Singapore welcomes US move to rejoin TPP, but economists ask if it's for real
Trump's move comes at a time when his trade strategy is under fire amid escalating tension with China
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Singapore
WHILE Singapore welcomes the US rejoining the Trans Pacific free trade pact, private-sector economists here are sceptical about President Donald Trump's sharp reversal of his country's pull-out of the agreement, made days after he assumed the presidency.
"Joining TPP will re-establish the US administration's commitment to global free trade," said Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank Kim Eng. "Questions will be raised on whether the US will be fully committed to any free trade agreements, given President Trump's volatile temperament and willingness to break past trade agreements unilaterally."
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