Trump's dangerous trade obsession

Washington

TRADE wars, encouraged by US President Donald Trump, are inching closer. The White House has rejected the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an agreement involving 12 Asia-Pacific countries, including the United States, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

It is threatening to do the same with the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) by slapping a 20 per cent duty on Mexican exports to the US. All this is advanced in the name of bolstering US manufacturing jobs, which are regarded as being sacrificed to imports and "unfair" foreign trade.