Obama warns against rush to condemn Trump trade policies

“The benefits of a China-led regional trade deal are likely to be much smaller”, he said in a note.

For the United States, such trade ties have geopolitical undertones. It could fall to China to try to persuade Mr. Trump to keep the U.S.in the deal.

The Obama administration said China would be happy to take over the United States’ role as global free trade promoter. Still, he expressed concern that the USA could be turning its back on a bilateral trade relationship responsible for moving $1 million worth of goods every minute.

A man jumps onto a police vehicle during a rally of indigenous people protesting against the pollution resulting from oil production in the Amazons region, in Lima, Peru, Nov. 18, 2016. Other than efforts to end two wars begun by his predecessor, Obama’s principal foreign policy goal was to shift the nation’s attention and military resources away from an aging Europe and an unproductive rivalry with Russian Federation and toward the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.

With China and Russian Federation seen as major global beneficiaries of Trump’s election victory, Obama acknowledged that questions were being raised about the post-Cold War primacy of democracy. “We know-we have seen this film before”, he told journalists on Friday. On Monday, he suggested Republicans would find replacing his health care law hard.

The two leaders are sitting down on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic summit in Lima.

The prime minister also took aim at Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for his recent displays of sympathy towards trade protectionism. And Trump has won. So says the White House in a statement.

Trade experts are watching to see if China will seek to position itself as the new world leader on free trade at the Asia Pacific Economic Summit in Lima.

The allegiances are starting to shift after Trump’s election.

Of the summit overall, Obama said “this is always a useful occasion for us to get together and examine how we can make sure that we’re creating more jobs, more opportunity and greater prosperity for all of our countries”. One of the mainstays of that growth has been Lima’s trade pact with Washington. He told delegates gathering for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum that global trade had stopped growing in the past two years, and would only worsen if nations wall off their economies – as Trump has pledged to do with an agenda that calls for putting America’s interests above all else.

Some Asia analysts suggest that while a vow to increase military spending in the region would be welcomed by leaders there, a de-emphasis on trade deals and a more realpolitik approach to diplomatic relations could prompt some Asia-Pacific nations to move closer toward China.

Allan Bollard, executive director of the APEC secretariat, said the 11 remaining countries in the deal could ratify the agreement and hold out for a few years.

Abe met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York Thursday, saying afterward he is a “trustworthy leader”.

The demise of TPP will hit especially hard in emerging economies like Vietnam and Malaysia, said Gareth Leather, an economist at consultancy Capital Economics. Nearly no one noticed outside of Cebu.

Beijing is pushing two alternatives: the 21-member Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and a 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which notably includes India but not the United States.

Trump has already begun to reach out to Asian leaders since his election, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in NY and talking by phone to the South Korean president.