Donald Trump on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, funding Nasa and the climate change 'hoax'
Trump has previously said global warming is a Chinese conspiracy and said women should be punished for having abortions
By James Temperton
Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump will take office as the 45th president of the United States. Through months of campaigning, Trump was criticised for releasing vague and provocative policies and statements on a number of key issues ranging from climate change and science funding to encryption and cybersecurity.
Now, before he has even entered office, the president-elect has started to make good on some of these promises - namely, discussing how he'll withdraw America from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
During a video message, released on YouTube, Trump said from the start of his time in office he would "cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy" and "issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a potential disaster for our country."
As an alternative, Trump said he planned to "negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back to American shores."
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The TPP trade deal was signed by 12 countries and requires signatories to "protect the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively; protect against employment discrimination; set acceptable conditions of work concerning minimum wages, hours of work, and workplace health and safety; and combat trade in goods made by forced labour, including forced child labour, in countries inside and outside TPP."
When it comes to such unfettered free trade, Donald Trump is not a typical Republican. While not opposed to the principle of trade, Trump has said any deals must protect US jobs and industry. This is why he's against the TPP and could withdraw from other, similar pacts if he thinks the US isn't getting a fair shake.
In June 2016, he likened the TPP to rape. "It's a rape of our country. It's a harsh word, but that's what it is – rape of our country," Trump said.
He's accused China of unfair trade practices including currency manipulation and intellectual property theft. Trump's statements on global trade are closely linked to his policies on domestic job creation. He plans to create 25 million jobs over ten years, having stated that too many jobs are being lost overseas. Reductions in tax and the removal of regulations would also boost job creation, Trump has claimed.
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Following Trump's win, the FTSE 100 opened 145 points, or 2 per cent lower, effectively wiping £37 billion off the value of top UK-listed companies. However, most of the losses were recovered.
Here, we collect Trump's other public statements and, where available, detail his stated policies.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
Trump's campaign website makes no mention of environmental issues. He's described man-made climate change as a hoax and in May 2016 said he would "cancel" the Paris Agreement. He opposes environmental regulations, arguing they are economically damaging.
His campaign dismissed the significance of climate change in favour of further exploitation of domestic fossil fuel resources. Trump also plans to roll back government regulation limiting access to coal, oil and natural gas.
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Trump wants to drastically cut funding to the Environmental Protection Agency and has reportedly selected Myron Ebell, a well-known climate change sceptic, to lead his EPA transition team. In November 2012 he claimed the Chinese had invented global warming to hurt the United States.
"It is fair to assume that issues such as climate change will not hold a great deal of sway with him, and that global oil market issues will be seen through a much more traditional lens of competitive geopolitics rather than one of shared security," wrote Sarah Ladislaw from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a report for Chatham House. But, she added, with little track record on energy policy to analyse, and with Trump's tendancy to change his mind quickly on major issues, it is hard to predict what policies he will actually try to push through.
Encryption and cybersecurity
As with many issues, Trump's policies around encryption and cybersecurity are thin. In February 2016 he called on people to boycott Apple until it complied with the US government and unlocked the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. "First of all, Apple ought to give [authorities] the security to that phone," Trump told supporters at a rally in South Carolina. "What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until they give that security number. I just thought of that—boycott Apple."
In a later phone interview with Bloomberg he firmed-up his position. "Tim Cook is living in the world of the make believe. I would come down so hard on him—you have no idea — his head would be spinning all of the way back to Silicon Valley."
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On the policy section of his campaign website, a section headed "Cybersecurity" explains Trump would "order an immediate review of all US cyber defences and vulnerabilities" through the establishment of a "Cyber Review Team" made up of individuals from the military, law enforcement and private sector.
Trump has been described as "the first anti-science president" in US history by Michael Lubell, director of public affairs for the American Physical Society. Speaking to Nature, he warned the consequences of Trump's victory for the scientific community would be "very, very severe".
"Tim Cook is living in the world of the make believe. I would come down so hard on him—you have no idea — his head would be spinning all of the way back to Silicon Valley"
Again, Trump's policies on science are thin at best. He's said the US "must have programs such as a viable space program and institutional research that serve as incubators to innovation and the advancement of science and engineering in a number of fields", while in the same breath suggested tax cuts will reduce science funding. His policies on immigration could also have a damaging effect on scientific research in the US.
"I will free Nasa from the restriction of serving primarily as a logistics agency for low-Earth orbit activity," Trump said at a rally in Sanford, Florida, in October 2016. "Instead, we will refocus its mission on space exploration. Under a Trump Administration, Florida and America will lead the way into the stars." Trump believes in a "substantially expanded" public-private partnership to increase investment in space and drive economic growth. "Human exploration of our entire solar system by the end of this century should be Nasa's focus and goal," he said.
Donald Trump thinks abortions should be illegal. In March 2016 he said women who have them should receive "some form of punishment". When pressed, he didn't say if that punishment should be a fine or a prison sentence. He has since done little to distance himself from the remarks, other than saying his position "had not changed" when later asked to clarify his comments. Trump had previously supported abortion rights. In October 1999 he said he was "very pro-choice".
Immigration and refugees
One of the president-elect's major policy ambitions is the creation of a 2,000-plus-mile wall along the US-Mexico border. He wants a reduction in legal immigration and has called for the forced deportation of more than 11 million undocumented migrants living in the US. In December 2015, in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of the country's borders to all Muslims. Both San Bernardino shooters are US citizens.
On refugees, Trump has said his administration would suspend all immigration from Syria and Libya. Those looking to enter the US would be subject to an "extreme vetting" process, which would include "ideological certification". Trump claimed the US currently has "no idea" who it's letting into the country. The current US refugee vetting process is viewed as one of the most rigorous in the world. The screening process takes an average of 18 months to two years.
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