Thursday, 12 April 2018 ()
WASHINGTON — In a surprising reversal, President Trump told a gathering of farm state lawmakers and governors Thursday morning that he is directing his advisers to look into rejoining the trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a deal he pulled out of within days of assuming the presidency. Rejoining the 11-country pact could be a sharp reversal of fortune for many U.S. industries that stood to benefit from the trade agreement’s favorable terms and Republican lawmakers who supported the pact. The deal, which was negotiated by the Obama administration, was largely viewed as a tool to prod China into making the type of economic reforms that the United States and others have long wanted.