Trump directs agencies to examine trade abuses

By Ovunc Kutlu and Michael Hernandez

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders Friday that targeted trade abuses he promised to address during his campaign.

"Jobs and wealth have been stripped from our country,” he said. “Thousands of factories have been stolen from our country," he added while referring to American manufacturing jobs that ave moved overseas since the 1970s.

"But, these voiceless Americans now have a voice in the White House. We will create a level playing field for the American worker, finally," he said.

One order directs the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative to examine trade abuses that contribute to the country’s trade deficit, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters.

The two entities have 90 days to produce a report “on the causes of our unduly large trade deficit”, Spicer said.

A second order calls on Customs and Border Protection to impose “countervailing duties” on goods that have been subsidized by foreign governments.

The tool has been in the U.S.’s trade arsenal but has been rarely employed, according to Spicer.

“By not properly using this enforcement mechanism, we're costing Americans who work in so many industries, not just steel, but in agriculture, chemical, machinery and other manufactured good in particular,” Spicer said.

The orders come ahead of a meeting next week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida that “will be a very difficult one in that we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses,” Trump said via Twitter on Thursday, “American companies must be prepared to look at other alternatives,” he added..

The U.S. has its highest trade deficit with China at $347 billion in 2016 and its largest overall trade deficit at $502.3 billion -- its highest since 2012.

Director of the White House National Trade Council Peter Navarro told reporters Thursday that the executive orders are not about the two leaders meeting next week.

"Let's not make this a China story. This is a story about trade abuses," he said.

Trump said during his campaign that the trade deals the U.S. has with other countries are not fair and pledged to renegotiate or repeal them.