By Hugh R. Morley
In downtown Manhattan, hours after the election results emerged, the mood was far from upbeat Wednesday at the Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation Conference, where the first panel of the day addressed the possible impact on U.S. trade policy of Trump's win. Clearly, TPP was unlikely to go ahead, speakers said, and it was unclear whether Trump would follow up on all his proposals for China, a key sourcing country for many shippers among the 200 attendees of the conference.
David Spooner, partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Washington, D.C., and a former negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative, told the conference that Trump's three trade advisers -- financier Wilbur Ross; Peter Navarro, an economics professor at the University of California; and Dan DiMicco, former CEO of Charlotte steelmaker Nucor Corp. -- are known to be antipathetic to trade.
"All three are very protectionist," Spooner said. "These are folks that really believe it."