The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Rise of China
What Japan Joining the TPP Means for the Region
Article Summary and Author Biography
The United States is preparing for an Asian century, and its trade policy is following suit. Officials hope that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement soon to include Japan, will help solidify their economic role in Asia.
BERNARD GORDON is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire, and the author, most recently, of America’s Trade Follies.
Comment
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive multilateral trade agreement now in the works that focuses on the Asia-Pacific region, could add billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and solidify Washington's commitment to the Pacific. But if the Obama administration fails to calm critics of the deal, there is a growing possibility that it could collapse.
Snapshot
Recent rhetoric signals that the Japanese government is taking a tough stance on foreign policy. In reality, however, politicians and citizens alike are easily distracted by sideshows and seemingly incapable of crafting a cohesive defense strategy. When it comes to national security, Japan is its own worst enemy.
On October 14, in a speech to the Economic Club of New York, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heralded the United States’ so-called pivot toward Asia, announcing, “The world’s strategic and economic center of gravity is shifting east.” Her remarks were part of a recent U.S. effort to reaffirm the United States’ role as a Pacific power, a response to worries among Asia-Pacific states about the rise of China and the United States’ long-term commitment to the region. U.S. President Barack Obama will reinforce this message later this month when he visits several Asian capitals and hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Hawaii. Central to this regional policy is trade: with Congressional approval of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement now behind him, Obama seeks to cement the United States’ economic role in Asia by finalizing the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a free trade pact currently being negotiated by Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.
When the negotiations are completed, the TPP agreement will bring most import tariffs on trade within the group to zero over a ten-year period. In addition to the merchandise traditionally included in previous such pacts, the TPP will cover services, intellectual property, investments, and state-owned enterprises, among other areas. Given its expansiveness, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has touted it as a “twenty-first century” agreement that will lead to a flourishing of regional trade...
