"Donald Trump’s claim that China ‘will enter’ the Trans-Pacific Partnership ‘at a later date’"
“China will enter the TPP through the back door at a later date. They are watching, they are studying. They are not in it now, but are going to be in it. If it is good, they will be there. By the way, if it is no good, they’ll pass. It’s the same way, always is.”
— Donald Trump, trade and economy speech in Pennsylvania, June 28, 2016
During that primary debate, Trump said: “The TPP is horrible deal. It is a deal that is going to lead to nothing but trouble. It’s a deal that was designed for China to come in, as they always do, through the back door and totally take advantage of everyone.” Our friends at PolitiFact rated this claim Pants on Fire, their worst rating saved for the most egregious falsehoods. Not only was China not a part of negotiating the deal, it is highly unlikely for China to “take advantage of” the 12 TPP countries.
Trump then clarified his opinion, but as PolitiFact noted, he offered little details:
“Well, I know that China is not in the deal,” Trump said. “And if they look at speeches they will see I talk about it all the time, this deal is going to be a great deal for China. It is going to be unbelievable because China is going to come in through the backdoor, and that is what I said. They are going to come in later through the backdoor and they will take advantage of what all of these other people were negotiating, and the Wall Street Journal does a big editorial that I didn’t know about China.”
It’s still not clear what Trump means when he says “back door.” There’s really one “door” for China to join the TPP, and there are steps that China would have to go through to enter it. More on that later. There is an accession process through which countries can enter the TPP. But this is an actual, formal way to enter — “front door,” if you will — rather than a “back door,” as Trump says. Trump’s campaign did not respond when we asked for further clarification. China already is negotiating a separate trade agreement comprising 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/06/30/donald-trumps-claim-that-china-will-enter-the-trans-pacific-partnership-at-a-later-date/
Trump and the truth have always had a tenuous relationship.