Trump Puts The Final Nail In The TPP's Coffin

In a post-election era that makes House of Cards look uneventful, president-elect Donald Trump released his plan for his first 100 days in office and, to his critics' surprise, it's actually not terrible. For some, the most innocuous portion of Trump's plan is his decision to pull the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive trade deal between major world powers including the United States and China. And it appears that at least on this issue, Trump plans on following through with his promises. Ultimately, could Trump's disavowal of the Trans-Pacific Partnership be a positive thing? I, for one, think this might be his first policy that isn't a complete disaster. The controversial deal, heavily criticized by Bernie Sanders and the Sierra Club among others, was opposed by both Trump and Hillary Clinton.

As the old adage goes, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and Trump was bound to come up with something that wasn't as nefarious as some of his other campaign promises. In fact, the majority of Trump's 100-day plan are low-impact, primarily because they're all things he can achieve unilaterally without the consent of Congress. Although it's a relief that Trump isn't planning on spending his first 100 days acting on his concerning rhetoric regarding both women and minorities, there is still plenty of cause for concern and even alarm as the ongoing controversy regarding his cabinet and White House staff picks continues.

The TPP — President Obama's controversial brainchild and a means of seemingly strong-arming countries into raising their human and workers rights standards — will, according to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, essentially be dead once the United States leaves it. To TPP critics like Sanders, this might be good news in an otherwise frightening news cycle that's been dominated by reports of white nationalists "heiling" Trump and the president-elect himself allegedly berating journalists in an unprecedented private meeting in Trump Tower. Sanders criticized the TPP in harsh terms by calling it "secretive" and outlining ways it will hurt working class Americans.

With the imminent death of the TPP, Americans can rest assured, at least momentarily, that Trump will not steer our economy into a tailspin within his first 100 days of office. But it also opens up the possibility for other disastrous trade deals spearheaded by the so-called business mogul-turned-president — and with his track record, that's certainly a scary prospect.