The chief of staff to then-Vice President George H.W. Bush said Monday that he finds President Trump’s decision to pull back on long-held international agreements “troubling,” citing the move has created a fundamental lack of stability.
“Uncertainty about what U.S. policy is and will be is not a good thing for stability around the country whether its commercial interests or whether national defense and security interests,” Craig Fuller told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons during an interview on “Rising.”
“I don’t think the current administration — or at least the leader of the current administration — fully realizes the responsibility that the United States has assumed for so many years … so I think it is troubling,” he added.
Fuller was responding to a question about Trump’s decision to pull back on international coalitions and trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Trump has long criticized NAFTA, arguing that the U.S. hasn’t gotten a fair shake in the free trade deal.
Earlier this year, Trump introduced a slew of tariffs against China. These punitive measures were later extended to the European Union, Canada and Mexico.
But Trump left the Group of 20 summit touting a truce with China. Over the weekend, the two countries agreed to temporarily halt further tariff increases amid trade negotiations.
Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump tweeted on Monday that relations with China have taken “a BIG leap forward,” adding that both countries have much to gain when trade negotiations are complete.
Trump also told reporters that he intends to cancel NAFTA, the trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. The president signed a new agreement with the two parties, which he negotiated as a revised version of NAFTA.
Congress will still have to approve the new trade pact, and it’s expected to be an uphill battle. The bilateral bill will require some support from Democrats, who are poised to retake the House in January.
— Tess Bonn
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