One LGBT Group Praises a Trump Action — With Reservations

Amid widespread criticism of Donald Trump by most LGBT organizations, one has praised, at least cautiously, an action by the new president -- and it's not a conservative outlier, either.

Pride at Work, a group for LGBT union members and allies, applauded Trump's executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. "We are cautiously pleased that President Trump has removed the United States from the TPP," said a statement released Tuesday by executive director Jerame Davis. "Aside from being a bad deal for working people, the environment, and our food supply, TPP would have elevated the trade status of countries that abuse, criminalize, and, in some cases, kill their LGBTQ citizens. What's more, the extensions on patents for certain biologically derived medicines would have driven up the cost of lifesaving medications for severe illnesses like HIV."

Trump built much of his campaign on opposition to the TPP and other trade agreements, saying they cost American jobs and claiming he could negotiate better deals. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton also opposed the TPP, although it took some time for her to come to this position. Her main opponent in the primaries, Bernie Sanders, denounced the TPP as well.

The agreement was backed by President Obama. It involved the U.S. and 11 other countries that border the Pacific Ocean -- Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. It would have strengthened economic ties among the nations and taken down some trade barriers. It "covered a wide swath of goods, granting U.S. cattle ranchers better access to Japan and lowering tariffs on apparel imported from Vietnam," notes The Washington Post.Obama saw it as important partly as a means of countering China's influence in the region.

But many liberals opposed the deal, saying it "would pave the way for companies to sue governments that change policy on, say, health and education to favour state-provided services," the BBC reports. "And it was also seen as intensifying competition between countries' labour forces." Workers in many of the countries involved make far lower wages than Americans do.

Some of the countries are indeed hostile to LGBT rights -- Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore among them. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, for instance, has imposed Sharia law, an ultraconservative Islamic legal code, calling in some cases for death of gay people by stoning.

And numerous health organizations, including those focused on HIV and AIDS, opposed the TPP because it would maintain pharmaceutical companies' rights to certain drugs for several years, therefore delaying the availability of cheaper generic versions.

Even before the election, Congress appeared unlikely to ratify the TPP, and with Trump's election, its demise was assured. "To take effect, the deal would have had to be ratified by February 2018 by at least six countries that account for 85% of the group's economic output," notes the BBC, and without the U.S., the latter figure could not be reached.

While approving Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the TTP, Pride at Work is keeping close watch on him. "It is now up to President Trump to negotiate new trade deals that are more in keeping with the interests of working Americans. He has promised to put America first in all of his deals, but it's unclear if he means he will put American workers first or the interests of Wall Street and corporate CEOs," Davis continued in the Tuesday statement.

Future trade agreements, he added, must "take working conditions, worker's rights, and labor and environmental standards into consideration" and "protect the rights of vulnerable populations, such as LGBTQ people, women, and children."

Pride at Work has also opposed some of Trump's early actions. Davis today condemned the president's executive orders committing to building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and punishing cities that offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants, along with his plan to stop admitting Syrian refugees, along with restricting entry to the U.S. by countries deemed to pose a security risk -- largely Muslim-majority countries.

"The president's new executive orders on immigration are shameful and dangerous," Davis said in a press release. "These actions will do nothing to make our nation more safe or secure. For many LGBTQ immigrants who've fled repressive regimes, deportation to their country of origin could be a death sentence."

In December, the group announced its opposition to Trump's nominee for secretary of Labor, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder. "Andrew Puzder's nomination to become the Secretary of Labor is a slap in the face to every working person in America," Davis said at the time. "Here we have a man who makes over a million dollars a year in base salary, but he thinks the minimum wage is too high. Just to prove how out of touch he is with average working people, he also opposes the Affordable Care Act, which has insured over 20 million people -- many of whom likely work for Pudzer's company."