Trump torpedoes TPP deal

United States President Donald Trump has just signed off the executive order that will see the US withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

It was the second executive order issued by Mr Trump.

"It's a great thing for the American worker," he told media as he signed off the order.

But Republican senator John McCain says Mr Trump's executive order is "the wrong decision."

He said it's a "serious mistake that will have lasting consequences for America's economy and our strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.

"It will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers."

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders says he's "glad the Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead and gone".

"If President Trump is serious about a new policy to help American workers then I would be delighted to work with him," he said in a statement.

During his presidential campaign, Mr Trump vowed to withdraw from the Pacific trade deal, which he argued was harmful to US workers and manufacturing.

The TPP was negotiated under former President Barack Obama.

On Tuesday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett said the Government would keep working with Mr Trump.

"We're going to keep working with him, and I hope he gets to see the benefits of trade, because I'm not sure it's the kind of answer he's looking for, for jobs for Americans," Ms Bennett told RadioLIVE.

Prime Minister Bill English says he hopes Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet with his new US counterpart in weeks. He remains hopeful some of the benefits of the trade deal could still be introduced in some form.

"We'll be working with a number of other countries around the TPP, essentially on a plan B, given the assumption so far at least that the US won't be participating right now," Mr English told RadioLIVE.

Labour leader Andrew Little says Mr Trump ditching the TPP isn't surprising and shows National's "feeble attempt" at passing legislation to ratify the deal was a "pointless exercise".

"New Zealand needs to negotiate with other countries to genuinely reduce trade barriers, but one thing we should never do is negotiate conditions that undermine our sovereignty."

In a meeting with business leaders on Monday, Mr Trump said US companies who moved manufacturing to other countries would be punished with a “very major border tax” if they tried to sell their products back to the United States.

"A company that wants to fire all of its people in the United States, and build some factory someplace else, and then thinks that that product is going to just flow across the border into the United States - that’s not going to happen," he said.

Mr Trump also promised the group he'd cut taxes and regulations. He told chief executives he’d like corporate taxes slashed from 35 percent "down to anywhere from 15 to 20 percent."

He said regulations could be reduced "by 75 percent. Maybe more."

Mr Trump also signed off on executive orders that will reinstate the Mexico City abortion laws and introduce a five-year ban on lobbying for anyone who works in the administration.

The Mexico City Policy will ban foreign NGOs that receive funding from the US from paying for or mentioning abortion as a family planning option. The policy was first introduced by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984. 

Newshub.