MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-13 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [Hangout - NYLXS] Chinese Threat continues
|
On 11/13/20 12:04 PM, Ruben Safir wrote:
> https://www.wsj.com/articles/asia-pacific-countries-push-to-sign-china-backed-megadeal-11605265208?mod=hp_listb_pos3
>
wsj.com
Asia-Pacific Countries Push to Sign China-Backed Trade Megadeal
Jon Emont in Singapore and Alastair Gale in Tokyo
7-9 minutes
China and 14 other Asia-Pacific nations seek to sign a trade deal this
weekend that will knit their economies closer together—the second pact
covering large swaths of the region whose signatories don’t include the U.S.
The U.S. originally intended to be part of the first—a group of Pacific
Rim countries called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP—but quit
after President Trump took office. The other 11 countries, including
Japan, Canada, Mexico and Australia, went ahead without the U.S. and
signed a lower-impact version of the deal in 2018.
But that pact didn’t include China, and the one now at the finish line
does. Its progress after years of tough negotiation suggests Beijing’s
determination to further link its market with those of its neighbors,
many of which already count China as their largest trading partner. The
bloc would encompass 10 Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam,
Thailand and Singapore, as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New
Zealand.
The agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP,
could be signed Sunday. It would give a further boost to China’s
economy, already benefiting from the country’s having controlled the
coronavirus within its borders. China is expected to grow more than any
major economy this year.
“The risk for the China-skeptical countries is this adds to the momentum
of the China narrative in the region,” said Robert Ward, director of
geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute for Strategic
Studies, a think tank.
The deal will increase pressure on U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to
bolster U.S. economic ties and fill a policy vacuum in a critical part
of the world. Washington’s withdrawal from the TPP became a symbol of
what many in the region saw as a U.S. turn inward.
“RCEP’s exclusion of the U.S. may give Washington additional impetus to
return” to the trade agreement, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of
the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn
University in Thailand.
Mr. Biden said last year he would try to renegotiate the TPP. At best
that won’t be fast or easy: Trading partners like Japan may require
concessions, and many in the U.S. remain skeptical of big free-trade
pacts. Even before President Trump triumphantly withdrew from the TPP as
one of his first official acts, it was effectively dead in the U.S.
No draft of the new China-backed pact has been released, but experts say
it is likely to be shallower than the TPP. One official involved in the
negotiations said it aims to lower tariffs, strengthen supply chains,
set common rules on intellectual-property protection and ease
business-visa arrangements, but doesn’t touch on labor rights or
environmental protections.
Still, it will facilitate trade, said Deborah Elms, Singapore-based
executive director of the Asian Trade Centre, which works with
businesses and governments on making trade policy. Currently, even
countries with bilateral trade deals often impose high tariffs on
finished goods such as televisions if a significant portion of the raw
materials comes from a third country. The deal would allow companies to
source raw materials from within the bloc, with their final product
enjoying low or no tariffs.
“The net result is you’re producing television sets in Asia for Asia
that ultimately should have significantly lower prices for consumers,”
said Dr. Elms, giving an example of a product that could be affected by
the deal.
One significant impact is likely to be on trade between China and Japan,
a rare pair of countries in the bloc not already part of a mutual
free-trade arrangement. While Tokyo, a close U.S. ally, is wary of
Beijing’s growing political and military power, it has sought to sell
goods to China as its neighbor’s economy has overtaken its own. They are
now the second- and third-largest.
Biden’s China Policy: New President-Elect, Same Tensions
0:00 / 7:00
6:31
Biden’s China Policy: New President-Elect, Same Tensions
Biden’s China Policy: New President-Elect, Same Tensions
President-elect Joe Biden has sent signals that the U.S. will remain
tough on China, from trade to technology. WSJ’s Jonathan Cheng explains
the new administration’s policy approach and how China might respond.
Photo: Lintao Zhang/AP
Japanese trade officials have highlighted expected reductions of Chinese
tariffs on Japanese seafood and alcoholic beverages, but have said Japan
will keep existing tariffs on some major agricultural goods such as rice
to protect its farmers.
The person involved in the negotiations declined to discuss how much
trade might increase, as the terms aren’t yet final. But he said Japan
would benefit from better access to the Chinese market, where it sells
goods ranging from autos to semiconductor parts.
“China’s consumer market is booming, so Japan could be able to sell more
things like processed foods and beverages,” the official said.
Japanese officials have played down suggestions China is leading the
bloc and could use it to increase its regional influence.
A South Korean container ship at the Chinese port of Qingdao in April.
Photo: Zhangjingang/Zuma Press
U.S. ally Australia is also navigating a delicate relationship with
China, its top trading partner. After Australia called for
investigations into the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak in China
earlier this year, Beijing slapped import restrictions on Australian
beef, barley and wine.
Jeffrey Wilson, a trade specialist at Perth USAsia Centre, a
foreign-policy think tank based at the University of Western Australia,
said that while Beijing is part of the equation, the deal would help
diversify Australia’s exports beyond China. “It is actually a boon for
Australia having access to all these markets for its products if they
can’t export to China,” he said.
China has said the deal will benefit its businesses, workers and
consumers and fight protectionism. “China is willing to work together
with all members to build the RCEP free-trade zone to achieve common
development and benefit the people of all countries,” Gao Feng, a
spokesman of China’s commerce ministry, said in a briefing late last year.
Negotiations began in 2013, with progress slow in part because of the
diversity of countries involved—from Asia’s poorest, such as Laos and
Cambodia, to its wealthiest, such as Singapore and Japan. Talks were set
back last year when India dropped out, fearing a flood of imports if it
cut tariffs.
The others plowed ahead. The pandemic, which has devastated the region’s
economies, has added to the appeal of the agreement. Many countries
expected to join, including China, Vietnam and New Zealand, have
effectively squashed Covid-19 and seen domestic demand revive—creating
trade opportunities for the others.
—Rachel Pannett in Sydney and Grace Zhu in Beijing contributed to this
article.
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
_______________________________________________
Hangout mailing list
Hangout-at-nylxs.com
http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
|
|
