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NewsWorldAs Donald Trump pulls US out of Trans-Pacific deal, Australia says China can fill the vacuum
As Donald Trump pulls US out of Trans-Pacific deal, Australia says China can fill the vacuum
Australia now hopes to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership by encouraging China and other Asian nations into the agreement in the wake of US pulling out of it, its trade minister said
Washington,UPDATED: Jan 24, 2017 10:59 IST
US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters
US formally pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Monday
TPP was negotiated by Barack Obama but never approved by Congress
By Reuters: US President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal on Monday, distancing America from its Asian allies, as China's influence in the region rises.
Fulfilling a campaign pledge to end American involvement in the 2015 pact, Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office pulling the United States out of the 12-nation TPP.
Trump, who wants to boost the 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".
"We're going to stop the ridiculous trade deals that have taken everybody out of our country and taken companies out of our country," the Republican President said as he met with union leaders in the White House's Roosevelt Room.
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TPP WAS NEGOTIATED BY OBAMA
The TPP accord, backed heavily by the US business, was negotiated by former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration but never approved by the Congress.
Obama had framed TPP, which excluded China, as an effort to write Asia's trade rules before Beijing could, establishing US economic leadership in the region as part of his "pivot to Asia".
China has proposed a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and has also championed the Southeast Asian-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Trump has sparked worries in Japan and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific with his opposition to the TPP and his campaign demands for the US allies to pay more for their security.
His trade stance mirrors a growing feeling among Americans that international trade deals have hurt the US job market. Republicans have long held the view that free trade is a must, but that mood has been changing.
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TRUMP MUST FIND AN ALTERNATIVE
"It's going to be very difficult to fight that fight," said Lanhee Chen, a Hoover Institution fellow who was domestic policy adviser to 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. "Trump is reflecting a trend that has been apparent for many years."
Harry Kazianis, director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington, said Trump must now find an alternative way to reassure allies in Asia.
"This could include multiple bilateral trade agreements. Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam should be approached first as they are key to any new Asia strategy that President Trump will enact," he said.
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.
AUSTRALIA WANTS TO SALVAGE THE DEAL
Australia now hopes to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership by encouraging China and other Asian nations into the agreement in the wake of US pulling out of it, its trade minister said today.
New Zealand's trade minister said ministers from the remaining TPP countries would meet in the next few months to discuss how to save the trade deal, which was seen in Asia as a counterbalance to China's rising influence.
TPP member Australia said China and Indonesia could join in the vacuum left by the United Sates. The TPP had yet to come into force with many countries still to ratify it.
"The original architecture was to enable other countries to join," Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"Certainly I know that Indonesia has expressed interest and there would be scope for China if we are able to reformulate it," said Ciobo.
The remaining 11 TPP nations are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
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