Trump’s Trade Disagreements

Come Jan. 20, President-elect Donald J. Trump will start carrying out his agenda. How does he expect to turn his promises into policy? Do his plans make sense? If not, what should he do? Finally, given the political realities of Washington, what’s most likely to happen? This is part of a series of editorials that try to answer these questions.

What he says he’ll do: Trump says it’s over for unfair trade. He promises to kill the Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. He says he’ll confront China’s trade offenses with “every lawful presidential power,” bringing cases at the World Trade Organization, declaring China a currency manipulator and, if necessary, imposing punitive tariffs. He’s said little about the proposed U.S.-EU trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, whose prospects were poor to begin with.