Why the Trans-Pacific partnership should not be Trump’s final weapon

THE trade war between the United States and China over tariffs has not been as effective as the Trump administration had originally predicted. Though China has slowed economically, the major impacts desired have not manifested. Perhaps the US’ greatest fear, China normalizing in spite of these tariffs, could come to fruition. In light of Trump’s increasingly ineffective tariff war, the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will likely have economic ramifications on the world.

The TPP was put in place to divert trade away from China while building stronger partnerships between the countries of the Pacific Rim and the US. Originally, the US under the Obama administration designed the TPP to “prevent China from writing the rules of the game in the Pacific Rim.” The US wanted to push China aside as the major economic powerhouse in the southeast in order to “balance” the power and help countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan rise economically. This created an issue for signers as China was hesitant to sign onto an agreement where they would willingly weaken their economic standing. Implementing the TPP without the signature of China could spark conflict with the US and potentially China’s surrounding countries.