Trump directs top economic aides to take 'another look at' TPP


President Trump told a group of Republican senators Thursday that he was having U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow take "another look at" the Trans-Pacific Partnership, The Washington Examiner reports based on comments made by Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse (R), who was in the room.
On Trump's first full weekday in office in January 2017, he signed an executive action to withdraw from the negotiating process of the 12-nation trade deal he'd once deemed "a rape of our country." Sasse said Trump "multiple times reaffirmed the idea that TPP would be easier for us to join now" and that he turned to Kudlow and told him, "Larry, go get it done."
In a statement, Sasse later called TPP "the best thing" the U.S. can do "to push back against Chinese cheating."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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