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Published Date: 2016-12-10
In October last year, twelve Pacific Rim countries signed the TPP after five years of negotiations. The countries, with a collective population of 800 million, include the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru. The deal is one of the most ambitious free trade agreements ever signed.
However, with Donald Trump’s call for protectionism and threats to start a trade war with China, the TPP, President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” looks vulnerable. The outgoing president reiterated his pledge to push for the TPP at this year’s APEC summit that concluded in Lima, Peru on November 20. But how much assurance did that give US allies?
Obama has said that if the United States does not take the lead in setting the global rules of trade, then China will. And if the United States were to withdraw from the TPP next year, it is generally believed that Beijing would be the biggest winner as US economic clout in the Asia Pacific region will be replaced by China.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lee says the government has a contingency plan to cope with the possible collapse.