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Trump's main foreign policy moves Washington, May 9 (AFP) May 09, 2018 After Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear pact, here is a look back at the "America First" president's signature foreign policy moves, largely characterized by a desire to break deals, not make them.
He said the TPP -- which has yet to take effect but has been signed by participating nations -- left the United States exposed to unfair competition and was a bad deal. But a year after taking office -- after the 11 other members signaled they would press ahead with or without Washington -- Trump struck a different tone, suggesting he would be open to joining again if the United States won unspecified changes.
Delegates from Mexico City, Ottawa and Washington are currently attempting to retool the deal, but they have hit serious stumbling blocks and the talks have been acrimonious in recent months. Canada and Mexico oppose the American demand for higher requirements for US-made content in automobiles and the elimination of an important trade dispute mechanism. The future of the agreement, which has seen sharp growth in trade but painful changes for certain industries, remains uncertain.
As he announced his decision to pull out, Trump indicated he could be open to some sort of renegotiation of the voluntary agreement, but his administration has done nothing to follow up on this. Meanwhile, more than 190 nations still in the pact are trying to how to cap global warming at "well under" two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).
In January, Washington announced it would transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the creation of Israel.
The move came after Kim conducted repeated launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and carried out a nuclear test. North Korea freed three American detainees Wednesday, handing them over to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who was on a surprise visit to Pyongyang. Kim has already meet with Moon, and the summit with Trump is expected in the coming weeks.
Trump has twice ordered cruise missile strikes on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad after he was accused of using chemical weapons. The most recent strike, in April, was conducted with the assistance of French and British forces.
The US president blasted the JCPOA as "insane" -- in part because its restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities begin expiring in 2025. Despite a maximum diplomatic effort by European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump on Tuesday did what many expected him to do, pulling America out and re-instating sanctions on Iran.
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