Trump Vows U.S. Withdrawal from TPP Trade Pact

President-elect Donald Trump says the U.S. will abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on his first day in office.

The free-trade pact was agreed to in 2015 but hasn’t been ratified. The agreement is among 12 countries, a bloc which represents 40% of the global economy: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S.

Backers describe the treaty as a move to balance China’s growing economic clout. Opponents have complained that much of the TPP negotiations were done secretly and resulted in a plan that will favor large multinational corporations.

Trump, who describes the treaty as a “potential disaster” for the U.S., says the country will instead negotiate new and separate bilateral trade deals on a country-by-country basis.

Trump says he also will issue several executive orders on his first day in office that are intended to add jobs in the U.S. They will include easing restrictions on U.S. energy production, including “clean" coal, and reducing regulations on domestic businesses.