PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD J. TRUMP’S POLICIES ON TRADE

1. Withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has not yet been ratified.

2. Appoint tough and smart trade negotiators to fight on behalf of American workers.

3. Direct the Secretary of Commerce to identify every violation of trade agreements a foreign country is currently using to harm our workers, and also direct all appropriate agencies to use every tool under American and international law to end these abuses.

4. Tell NAFTA partners that we intend to immediately renegotiate the terms of that agreement to get a better deal for our workers. If they don’t agree to a renegotiation, we will submit notice that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the deal. Eliminate Mexico’s one-side backdoor tariff through the VAT and end sweatshops in Mexico that undercut U.S. workers.

5. Instruct the Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator.

6. Instruct the U.S. Trade Representative to bring trade cases against China, both in this country and at the WTO. China's unfair subsidy behavior is prohibited by the terms of its entrance to the WTO.

7. Use every lawful presidential power to remedy trade disputes if China does not stop its illegal activities, including its theft of American trade secrets - including the application of tariffs consistent with Section 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

What to Expect

1. The U.S. will be tougher on China: Initially, this could mean restricting imports of steel and aluminum from China into the U.S. in an effort to rein in a flood of cheap metal imports that have harmed U.S. producers.
2. Empower the executive branch to deal with currency manipulation, especially against China, which as often been accused of artificially strengthening the value of its currency, the yuan, so that it could sell its products and services more cheaply abroad.
3. Create alternative avenue for countries to settle trade issues, which the World Trade Organization oversees. It’s likely that Trump’s administration will invoke the president’s unilateral trade retaliation authority as leverage to resolve problems through negotiated settlements.
4. Reevaluation of trade agreements: Withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has not yet been ratified. Another trade deal likely to take a backseat is the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the U.S and European Union. There is likely to be a long pause for reflection before the new Administration decides to endorse negotiation of this mega-deal.
5. Possibility of a trade deal with the UK, but early commitments would probably be vague.
6. Renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA.
7. Relax economic sanctions against Russia if President Vladimir Putin is willing to negotiate with him on a deal.

The details of trade policy and measures are not likely to emerge until after Trump is sworn in next year and then not for a few months when a new team is in place. Expect appointment of a more aggressive US Trade Representative open to threatening the use of unilateral trade measures. Trade is likely to be one of the most important portfolios being given out by the new President. 

Note:

Dan DiMicco, the former head of a Charlotte-based steel company (Nucor) who has praised Donald Trump’s assault on U.S. free-trade deals could join Trump’s administration as U.S. Trade Representative. DiMicco has called for a radical shift in the U.S. approach to globalization. He has accused China of “rampant and destructive” cheating on trade deals. DiMicco built Nucor Corp. into the U.S. largest steel company. During a dozen years at Nucor’s helm, DiMicco became increasingly outspoken about the failure of U.S. trade deals and ways that its trading partners were evading them. Nucor was among U.S. steelmakers that filed complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission over the last 15 years charging that countries from China and Japan to Brazil and France were violating the agreements and exporting steel products to the United States at less than fair value. DiMicco accuses China of lowering the value of its currency in a manipulation aimed at encouraging exports and raising the cost of goods imported from the United States and elsewhere. DiMicco, would be a major proponent of using  laws to combat predatory foreign trade practices, including government subsidies. If DiMicco became part of the Trump administration, he would be extremely interested in developing trade cases where the main plaintiff was the U.S. government, rather than specific private companies