Today's News & Commentary — January 23, 2017

President Donald Trump’s first day in office is slated to be full of meetings and executive actions regarding trade and manufacturing in the United States, though details about his exact agenda remain unclear.

According to CNN, President Trump plans to sign an executive order today withdrawing from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiation process. Trump’s campaign took a very hard stance against the TPP, claiming it would hurt American workers—a view also shared by many unions across the United States. The trade deal, pushed by President Obama, became a divisive issue during the election, even after it lost the support of every major candidate.

Furthermore, NBC News reports that Trump will sign an executive order beginning the renegotiation process around the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Another campaign hot button, the President decried this agreement with Mexico and Canada for destroying manufacturing jobs. He has stated that he will soon meet with the Mexican and Canadian president and prime minister to make changes to the trade deal.

Later today, Trump will meet with various labor leaders and workers, according to Reuters. In the morning, he will meet with business leaders to discuss manufacturing in America, according to a tweet by Trump. Details are still unclear as to who from the labor community will be at the second meeting or what specifically the agenda is.

When it comes to jobs within the new administration, the New York Times editorial board notes that many seem to still be available. Since President Trump “assumed office on Friday with the most incomplete team in recent history.” Currently he has not nominated three-quarters of the top 100 positions that require Senate confirmation, and his White House team—which doesn’t require confirmation hearings—remains light on both numbers and experience. “Clearly, Mr. Trump could have spent more time on the transition and less on Twitter.”