Ernst, McCain voice objections to U.S. withdrawal from Trans-Pacific Partnership

U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John McCain (R-AZ) voiced concerns about President Donald Trump’s executive action to withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

With one in five jobs in Iowa dependent upon international trade, Ernst said she was disappointed with the executive action on Monday to withdraw from the TPP.

“However, we must not let this stop our country from pursuing increased trade opportunities for our exporters,” Ernst said. “With the growing demand for our agricultural products across the world, it is imperative that we ensure a level playing field for American farmers and manufacturers to have a fair opportunity to compete in these markets.”

Iowa leads the nation in the production of many agricultural commodities, including corn, soybeans, eggs, pork, and a substantial amount of that is exported.

Ernst committed to looking for new ways to work with the Trump administration to advance a stronger trade agenda.

McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the executive action “a serious mistake” that would have lasting consequences on the American economy and the country’s strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.

“This decision will forfeit the opportunity to promote American exports, reduce trade barriers, open new markets and protect American invention and innovation,” McCain said. “It will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers. And it will send a troubling signal of American disengagement in the Asia-Pacific region at a time we can least afford it.”

Moving forward, McCain concluded, America must advance a positive trade agenda that keeps American workers and businesses competitive in of the fastest growing regions of the world.