Trump Pitches ‘America First’ Trade Policy at Asia-Pacific Summit
Mr. Trump condemned that I am always going to put America first, the same way that I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first.
10, 2017
DANANG, Vietnam — President Trump pitched a go-it-alone, "America First" trade policy on Friday to a gathering of nationsthat once pinned
their economic hopes on a regional pact led by the United States, vowing to protect American interests against foreign exploitation.
And it indicated the degree to which, under Mr. Trump, the United States — once a dominant
voice guiding discussions about trade at gatherings such as APEC — has ceded that role.
But Mr. Trump’s last encounter with Mr. Putin — on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Hamburg, Germany — posed political challenges for the White House, which faced questions about whether
and how sharply Mr. Trump would rebuke his Russian counterpart for meddling in the 2016 elections.
As Mr. Trump arrived in Danang, the White House announced
that he would not hold formal talks with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on the sidelines of the APEC summit meeting, as he had said he expected to, in part to plead for Moscow’s assistance in countering the threat from North Korea.
They did not, but I will." Since his election, President Trump has gone from hammering China
on trade policy to praising President Xi Jinping for his country’s response to North Korea.
Officials cited scheduling issues as the reason the two leaders would not meet, but on Thursday, Rex W. Tillerson, the secretary of state, had said
that a conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin was "still under consideration" and that a final decision would hinge on whether there was "sufficient substance" to warrant face-to-face talks.
