Trump executive order pulls out of TPP trade deal

US President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies.

Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office pulling the United States out of the 12-nation TPP, fulfilling a campaign pledge to end American involvement in the 2015 pact.

Trump, who aims to boost US manufacturing, said he would seek one-on-one trade deals with countries that would allow the United States to quickly terminate them in 30 days "if somebody misbehaves."

"Great thing for the American worker what we just did," Trump said as he dumped the pact with a stroke of a pen.

"We're going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken everybody out of our country and taken companies out of our country," he said.

The TPP accord, backed heavily by US business, was negotiated by former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration but was never approved by Congress.

During his presidential campaign, Trump criticised the accord as a "potential disaster for our country", arguing it harmed US manufacturing.

Trump is also working to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to provide more favorable terms to the United States, telling reporters he would meet leaders of NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada to get the process started.