Xi pushes China-backed trade deals to fill US void

Key does not have formal meetings with the super power leaders – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping or the US President Barack Obama, who is at his last Apec.

Under U.S. President Obama, the Trans-Pacific Partnership was the only trade deal on the table for Washington. Frustrated by a more protectionist USA backing away from its own pact, Asian nations may fall back on Xi’s plan. “The third one is really the trade policy, especially on China”, UBS China economist, Tao Wang told CNBC on Tuesday.

Trump’s victory has killed off hopes of further trade liberalization and it may herald a new era of protectionism, said the analysis obtained by Trend.

Despite Trump’s antipathy toward the TPP, Bollard said it was premature to write it off, but he expected it to be shelved “for a year or so”.

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

China isn’t waiting around for the TPP’s funeral.

Kerry underlined “the continued strength of our partnership and alliance with Japan, the cornerstone of USA engagement with the Asia-Pacific region”, said Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner.

But perhaps it is this added political goal, chased by a government in haste (during the second term of the Obama administration), that will prove to be the TPP’s undoing.

“Trade arrangements should seek to work with, not against, each other”, he said, adding that all sides should prevent trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region from becoming fragmented or politicized.

While many Pacific nations are clamoring for deeper trade ties with the rest of the world, in the United States and throughout the West there is growing opposition to deals that many believe have contributed to jobs being sent overseas.

The TPP seeks to, among other things, impose standards on labour and environmental regulations, and the protection of intellectual property.

“From New Zealand’s point of view we obviously would prefer the us involved because it is the largest place of consumption”.

Xi pushes China-backed trade deals to fill U.S. void was posted in Business of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on November 19, 2016 and was last updated on November 19, 2016. Some had already signed up for the TPP.

One, the 11 other signatories proceed without the US.

“It might go ahead without the United States”, said Mr Key, although that was not New Zealand’s preferred position.

Though most were careful not to criticise Trump directly, leaders at APEC, which ends on Sunday, universally warned of the dangers of turning away from globalisation and free trade.

Today, Obama will meet leaders of the 12-country trans-Pacific trade agreement, which Trump has opposed and now faces an uncertain future.

“If Trump wrecks Sino-US trade, a number of US industries will be impaired”, said the editorial. “A high-quality FTAAP would facilitate greater market access, through a more level playing field for Australia’s exporters and suppliers”. If they are able to wait out the initial phase of the Trump administration, they may find the President-elect to be more flexible once he is acclimated to the realities of his office, and his staff are more settled in their roles. But the RCEP has recently been under the spotlight as the fate of the TPP hangs in the balance. China seems confident that, despite the fiery rhetoric, Trump understands as well as anyone that tariffs would increase the prices of products imported from China.

Raul Salazar, a senior Peruvian trade official, told the Xinhua News Agency earlier this month: “China has contributed largely to pushing the idea of a free-trade area”.

Trump’s attacks on free trade deals and vows to cut back the USA role as “policeman of the world” are causing jitters in the Pacific Rim, where the United States and China battle for influence.