"The Trump Administration will reverse decades of policies that have pushed jobs out of our country. The new Administration will make it more desirable for companies to stay, create jobs here, pay taxes here, and rebuild our economy," the presidential transition team announced in a brief policy paper on trade reform yesterday.
"Our workers and the communities that support them will thrive again, as more and more companies compete to set up manufacturing in the US, to hire our young people and give them hope and a real shot at prosperity again," it said.
Observing that free trade is good as long as it is fair trade, it said American workers are the best in the world.
"On a level playing field, we can compete, and win. Yet, too many American jobs have been lost over the last decade because of trade deals that do not put Americans first," it alleged.
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Factories have closed and jobs have moved overseas because the government has imposed crushing regulations and taxes, while it negotiated trade deals that incentivised American companies to make things abroad, where environmental and labor protections are minimal and wages are low," the transition team said.
"We will harness technology and make smarter decisions on how we build and utilise our infrastructure. Our roads, bridges, airports, transit systems and ports will be the envy of the world and enhance the lives of all Americans. We will build the roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, and railways of tomorrow," it said.
Noting that federal policy should focus on free enterprise, while protecting consumers by policing markets for force and fraud, the transition team said both Wall Street and Washington should be held accountable.
The transition team said regulatory reform is cornerstone of the Trump Administration, and the effort will include a temporary moratorium on all new regulation, canceling overarching executive orders and a thorough review to identify and eliminate unnecessary regulations that kill jobs and bloat government.
"The Trump Administration is committed to regulatory reform that will produce sensible regulations that allow America to be great," the transition team said.