Washington – President Donald Trump had an apparent glitch Friday afternoon at an Oval Office signing for pair of executive orders: After touting the measures, he neglected to sign them.
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Trump declared that the two orders would start a “great revival” for U.S. manufacturing, repeating his campaign message that trade pacts have caused factory jobs to flow overseas.
One order calls for the completion of a large-scale report that will track trade deficits country-by-country and product-by-product, while the other would improve the collection of duties on imports.
“Nobody’s ever made bad trade deals like our country’s made,” the president said. “Thousands of factories have been stolen from our country.”
The president then allowed for remarks by other administration officials. Among those in attendance were Vice President Mike Pence, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Peter Navarro, the director of the White House National Trade Council, and Steve Bannon, the president’s chief strategist.
But after the remarks, Trump walked out of the Oval Office without signing either of the orders.
A White House official said he signed the measures later.