The RCEP is a Free Trade Agreement under negotiation between ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s FTA partners. When completed, the agreement will be between 16 countries, which make up 45% of the world population and contribute a third of the world’s GDP:
- The RCEP was launched at the 21st ASEAN and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2012. The negotiations for the RCEP commenced in 2013.
- The RCEP initiative aims to be an ASEAN-led process through which ASEAN would broaden and deepen its economic engagements with its FTA partners. The RCEP would lead to greater economic integration, support equitable economic development and strengthen economic cooperation among the countries involved.
- The RCEP has the potential to transform the region into an integrated market of more than three billion people (over 45% of the world’s population), with a combined GDP of about US$ 17.23 trillion, which is about a third of the world’s current annual GDP.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia. RCEP is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which excludes China and India.
RCEP potentially includes more than 3 billion people or 45% of the world's population, and a combined GDP of about $21.3 trillion, accounting for about 40 percent of world trade.[4] The combined GDP of potential RCEP members surpassed the combined GDP of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members in 2007. Continued growth, particularly in China, India and Indonesia could see total GDP in RCEP grow to over $100 trillion by 2050, roughly double the project size of TPP economies
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TPP and RCEP – Similar yet different
There are a lot of conversations happening right now about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), especially within the US who is leading the charge for this trade agreement.
On the other side of the world, China is pushing a different trade agreement - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Both agreements could revolutionize trade across the world – the TPP has been called NAFTA on steroids while the RCEP could possibly untangle the Asian noodle bowl of trade agreements.
Even though both sides have publicly stated that the agreements will be done by the end of 2015, the reality is with the opposition strong for both and some major obstacles still ahead, it may likely push well into 2016 before anything concrete is produced.
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The Ministerial Conference of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
On November 3-4, the RCEP Ministerial Conference was held in Cebu, Philippines. Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, leading the Chinese delegation consisting of members from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, attended the conference. The participating ministers reiterated the leaders ’instruction on how to conclude RCEP negotiations quickly, and how to evaluate the progress of the negotiation comprehensively. They also had in-depth discussions on key issues in the three core fields including trade in goods, service trade and investment, and provided strategic guidance for the next negotiation.
The participating ministers welcomed the completion of the chapter on economic and technological cooperation during the 15th round of negotiation held in Tianjin, China. The important progress generates power for the negotiations, and will contribute to narrowing down the development gap among the member countries. The effective implementation and application of the agreement will maximize the benefits of RCEP.
The participating ministers urged the officials to take part in the negotiations, grasp the active power brought by the above progress, remain strong willed, make great efforts, and reach a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and reciprocal RCEP agreement according to the requirements in the Guiding Principle and Goals of RCEP Negotiations. Besides, against the background of the globally weak economy, unbalanced growth of the developed economies , the slowing-down growth of emerging markets, the weak expectation of global trade growth and the rising sentiments for the trade protectionism, the ministers emphasized the urgency of concluding RCEP negotiations through a package solution. They thought this will help the confidence of the world economy.
related: China FTA Network
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Asia’s Murky Roadmap for Growth
With the future of the TPP uncertain, Asian countries have other options to consider. Image Credit: Carlos Barria, Reuters
Sweeping change is afoot in Asia. China has clearly become the single biggest power within Asia, and Beijing has outlined clear visions for its diplomatic and economic aspirations across the region and beyond. Washington, on the other hand, is seemingly going the other direction and less willing to be as formidable a Pacific presence as it has been. Having spent over seven decades defining and protecting regional security, there are growing doubts about U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, and how Washington views its future as a Pacific power.
One issue, however, is clear. Asia remains not only the world’s most populous region, but also the most dynamic economically. As a slew of multilateral frameworks for cooperation emerge, the question remains whether any of them will be successful in ensuring continued growth across Asia and the world.
Of course, there is broad consensus among Asian nations that political and economic stability go hand in hand. There is also a shared belief that increased exports can lead to growth, and that the region could benefit from greater investment in infrastructure development. Yet there is concern that some of the proposals currently under consideration could actually increase tensions, rather than encourage greater cooperation, given the competing visions for leadership in Asia.
related: FTAs in East Asia: Economic Integration or Economic Spheres of Influence?
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TPP, RCEP and AIIB
Developments in forming alliances among regional and global economic partners have emerged very strongly in recent times. The Tans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are notable not just as major alliances but more importantly for the change they are likely to cause to global economy and commerce in the days ahead.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed trade agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy, about which agreement was reached on October 5, 2015 after 8 years of negotiations. Member countries of the TPP are: Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Vietnam. Total population of TPP countries is 11 per cent of the global population. Total GDP of TPP countries is US$ 27.64 trillion.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a FTA negotiation that has been developed among 16 countries: the 10 Members of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and six other countries with which ASEAN has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. In relation to RCEP these six non-ASEAN countries are known as the ASEAN Free Trade Partners (AFPs). The participants in the RCEP FTA negotiations have a total population of over 3 billion people and a trade share estimated at around 27 per cent of global trade (based on 2012 WTO figures), covering GDP of around $US21 trillion (2013 IMF figures).
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TPP vs. RCEP: Trade and the tussle for regional influence in Asia
After the United States' recent diplomatic disaster of trying to prevent general adherence to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), US policy makers have been under pressure to strengthen their presence in Asia on the trade front: By concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a potentially historic trade agreement linking the US, Japan and ten other countries, China would see its goal of reducing Washington's presence in its neighborhood severely thwarted. Furthermore, the TPP would connect the United States to the economic center of the 21st century, one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, and cement its relationship to Japan, its key ally. It would be the first real manifestation of Obama's pivot to Asia, which so far consisted of mere rhetoric.
China, which is excluded from the countries negotiating the TPP, has responded by promoting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the United States, and which would promote rapprochement between Beijing and Tokyo. The tussle for regional influence between the United States and China has thus also taken hold of the debate about trade agreements.
Just like the TTP, the RCEP, whose negotiations were launched at the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2012, would connect a large chunk of the global economy, placing China and Japan at the center, and harmonize trade-related rules, investment and competition regimes. The RCEP includes a vast array of rules about investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and government regulation. Notably, India, set to play key economic role in Asia in the coming decades, is also part of the grouping.
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TPP and RCEP: Boon or Bane for ASEAN?
2015 is a critical year for the Asia-Pacific region. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), backed by the U.S. Senate’s recent approval of “fast-track” authority, is now entering the final round of negotiations in Hawaii. Another Asian free trade agreement (FTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is also due by the end of 2015, with a round of substantive talks in August and another to come in October.
With TPP spearheaded by the U.S. and RCEP led by China, there has been a lot of attention lately on how the two countries are using the FTAs to benefit themselves and keep each other out of their respective regional economic arrangements. Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states are also playing an important role in the future of trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific. As its economic cooperation and integration efforts have reached a crucial stage, ASEAN is concerned not only about the welfare effects of TPP and RCEP on its member states, but also about their impact on the development of ASEAN as an economic community.
One of the most widely recognized benefits for ASEAN of these high-level regional agreements is to calm the “noodle bowl” effect of small, overlapping FTAs. As common frameworks, RCEP and TPP are expected to help unify the trade standards in ASEAN’s other FTAs. However, recent studies, including a working paper from the Asian Development Bank, have expressed concerns that the two FTAs may affect ASEAN solidarity and hinder its internal economic cooperation and integration.
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TPP vs. RCEP
East Asia is moving from business-driven integration to institution-driven integration, where the multilateral norms and principles are to be maintained. China’s rapid growth fueled the growth of the entire region, increased integration, on the other hand, made the region vulnerable to the risks of dependence on China’s economy and hence, the fluctuations of the global market.
Despite the importance the Asia-Pacific trading system, the task of building regional institutions has been very crucial. Two major trade agreements, TPP and RCEP, stand to define the parameters of economic integration in Asia, arguably the world’s most dynamic region. The Asian Development Bank estimates that the region’s developing countries will grow by 6.3 percent in both 2015 and 2016, making it one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
The rise of mega-regionals—such as RCEP, and the TPP suggests that the world trade system is more like a jigsaw puzzle than a spaghetti bowl these days. TPP and RCEP are part of the efforts to disentangle the “spaghetti bowl” of different agreements. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a multi-regional economic partnership between, includes the ten (ASEAN) member countries, plus the big three in Northeast Asia – China, Japan, South Korea – as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the powerhouse on the other side of the region, India.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
There are 16 countries involved in RCEP: the 10 members of ASEAN—Brunei-Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam plus the six countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements—Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. These six countries are known as the ASEAN Free Trade Partners (AFPs).
All RCEP countries have now submitted initial offers for trade in goods and trade in services, as well as initial reservation lists for investment. Initial requests have been submitted in goods and services by most countries, and some requests have been submitted in relation to initial reservation lists in investment.
Trade in services market access negotiations continue on a bilateral and plurilateral basis. Consultations and engagement on investment liberalisation continued on the basis of a negative list structure.
In goods, negotiators continued to engage in discussions on the way forward, in light of the statement last year that leaders were looking forward to the conclusion of RCEP negotiations in 2016. The negotiations also advanced consideration of how to respond to concerns expressed by business in many countries about non-tariff measures.
related: Guiding Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the RCEP
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RCEP VS TPP
While China is in RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
But not only it RCEP just first step before China next step for bigger Economic partnership. China master economic program its called "One Belt, One Road"
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as The Belt and Road (abbreviated B&R), One Belt, One Road (abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy and framework, proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between the People's Republic of China and the rest of Eurasia, which consists of two main components, the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt" (SREB) and oceangoing "Maritime Silk Road" (MSR).
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A vision of global free trade? The new regionalism and the ‘building blocs’ debate
While the WTO Ministerial meeting in Bali in December may deliver on individual initiatives related to such themes as agriculture, trade facilitation and development, a major breakthrough on the “single undertaking” is far from sight. At the same time, mega-regional agreements are fast emerging as a key feature of the global architecture. This “new regionalism” could pose risks, but successful mega-accords will create a strong incentive for a global accord; hence, the “new regionalism” will arguably be a powerful “building bloc” that will ultimately support multilateralism.
Mega-free trade agreements on the horizon - The Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are two mega-regional agreements notable for their sheer size, overlap, and comprehensiveness. Moreover, the 2010 APEC “Yokohama Vision” aims to bring together members of these groups into a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) with negotiations to begin in 2020. Figure 1 shows the membership in each of these organizations, including two versions of the TPP: existing negotiating members (TPP12) and a possible scenario in which Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, join (each has expressed some interest in doing so), the TPP16. If negotiations go according to plan, these mega-free trade agreements (FTAs) could be in place within ten years and completely in effect within twenty years.
The “noodle bowl” of Asia-Pacific bilateral FTAs is giving way to the economic logic of consolidated regional FTAs that not only reduce the negative effects of bilateral FTAs but are more conducive to production networks that have been driving trade and investment in the region. This “new regionalism” will cut costs associated with bilateral FTAs and has many advantages over noodle-bowl bilateralism. It offers great economic benefits and a vision of future of global free trade.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): An attack against TPP?
The objective of this trade agreement is “to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement that will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues.“
Ultimately, RCEP aims to provide pathways to free trade area throughout the Asia-Pacific. It provides a basis for a more open trade and investment in this region and addresses concerns about overlapping bilateral agreement through regional liberalisation.
This is in line with the Australian government’s strategy for lowering trade barriers and securing improved market access for Australian exporters of goods and services, and for Australian investors.
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TPP 'demise' prompting a global pivot
US President Barack Obama's landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was already on life support before his successor, Donald Trump, promised American voters worried by the impact of globalization that he would kill it and bury it.
Now that the Republican-dominated Congress has announced it will not discuss ratification of the TPP during the remainder of Obama's term, all that is left for the outgoing president to do is to read the funeral oration for the proposed Pacific Rim trade pact that had been the keystone of his administration's so-called "pivot to Asia" strategy.
That may come when Obama joins other leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Peru, on Saturday and Sunday.
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Trump’s election pushes China to offer alternative to TPP
Donald Trump’s unanticipated, colossal victory has shaken up all prospects of ratifying a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and this may radically change the talks on free trade in Asia, Kommersant business daily writes. At the APEC summit on November 19-20, China is expected to promote an alternative project - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Russia’s key initiative at the summit will be suggesting that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) should become one of the platforms for integration in the region. Director of the Russian APEC Study Center Tatyana Flegontova told Kommersant that this year, the parties hammered out a strategic study on the prospects of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). If the TPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) had previously been considered a keystone, this time the feeling is "we managed to show our colleagues that we will be able to participate in this zone only as the EAEU."
The TPP has more chances to be created now than the free trade zone as part of APEC. For Russia, the failure of major integration projects by the US and China could signal the need to revise its mid-term foreign trade policy. So far, the prospects of such an ambitious free trade zone are unclear as the participants are not ready yet to genuinely negotiate, Flegontova said. China suggested sealing an agreement by 2020, but the US opposed the plans. Now, Beijing is coming out against the commitments on the TPP and the RCEP in joint declarations.
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Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored Trade Deal
President Obama made a foolish decision to not welcome China in the formation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
It was ludicrous for Obama to leave China out of things. China is the second biggest economy in the world, third if you treat the EU as a block. Had China been in the deal all along, we may not have seen the ludicrous provision that allowed companies to sue governments. That provision was one of the key reasons the deal failed.
With the election of Trump, TPP is officially dead. China, not the US, will be at the center of a new Asian trade pact.
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People celebrated the defeat of the TPP at a rally on November 17, 2016. (Photo by Chelsea Gilmour)
In all practical senses, U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is over, at least for now. The Washington Post reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress will not seek to ratify the trade deal during the lame-duck session, essentially the last hope of the Obama Administration to pass the deal.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said the GOP does not have enough votes to pass TPP in the House, with soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, confirming the deal will not be approved.
How did this historic defeat happen? One answer is people-power built around widespread anger over the damage that earlier trade deals, such as NAFTA, have done to America’s manufacturing base and the decent-paying jobs that went with it.
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China is moving after Donald Trump's election win to claim the mantle of the world's champion of free trade and the fight against climate change, prompting a melancholy warning from President Barack Obama that the US risks getting left behind in Asia. PHOTO: AFP
China is moving after Donald Trump's election win to claim the mantle of the world's champion of free trade and the fight against climate change, prompting a melancholy warning from President Barack Obama that the US risks getting left behind in Asia.
Mr Obama met in Peru on Sunday with leaders of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that Mr Trump vowed to kill on the campaign trail along with the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Mr Obama said that TPP members told him they want to move forward with the pact, "preferably" with the US.
"I believe that TPP is a plus for America's economy," Mr Obama told reporters while attending meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the first major global summit since Mr Trump's win.
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Two months before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the next US President and the likely end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, signs emerge that the Asia-Pacific region is turning towards a Plan B.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to pull the US out of the 12-nation mega trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a vital element in President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia strategy.
The trade deal has been viewed by many as a means for the US to deepen its economic engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, while helping Washington counter Beijing's growing influence. China is currently not part of the TPP.
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PM still wants TPP, Trump flags withdrawal
Australia still wants the Trans-Pacific Partnership to succeed even with US president-elect Donald Trump vowing to withdraw from the trade pact, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
It was up to Mr Trump and his new Congress to make decisions in what they believed was in their nation's interest.
"It is very clear that from Australia's point of view, getting greater access for Australian exports ... to those big markets is manifestly in our interest," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
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China, Russia should promote establishment of free trade zone in Asia-Pacific
China’s President Xi Jinping during a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Lima (Peru) said China and Russia should support the process of forming in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) of a free trade zone.
"Russia is an important member of APEC, and both countries should improve cooperation in the framework of this forum, should implement important agreements, reached at the meeting this year, which include consensus reached in Beijing," the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted the country leader. "The countries should enforce the measures to promote the process of establishing a free trade zone in APR, and also favor successful results of the summit in Lima as we all APEC’s even bigger input in the economic growth within APR and globally."
Russia’s presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier, "the leaders supported strengthening of cooperation within the APEC for the purpose of delivering Bogor goals [a set of targeted goals for realizing free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific - TASS]."
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President Obama shakes hands with Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
TO THE extent the divided American electorate can be said to agree on anything after Nov. 8, it would seem to be broad rejection of “trade deals” such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both major-party candidates, Republican winner Donald Trump and Democratic loser Hillary Clinton — as well as her erstwhile primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — opposed it. Not surprisingly, the Senate will not take up the TPP in the lame-duck session.
Therefore, there was a certain pathos to President Obama’s valedictory performance at last weekend’s Asia-Pacific economic summit. With Mr. Trump, the most vehement protectionist to win the presidency in recent memory, preparing to take over at the White House on Jan. 20, Mr. Obama urged the region’s leaders not to give up on the TPP or the American presence in Asia that it would embody and perpetuate. Meanwhile, China’s strongman, Xi Jinping, offered membership in its alternative to the TPP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a less ambitious tariff-cutting plan whose main impact would be to substitute Beijing for Washington as the Asia-Pacific region’s economic and, potentially, strategic heavyweight.
Abandoning the TPP would be a self-inflicted injury to the United States and its democratic partners, from the west coast of South America to Australia to Japan. Yet even as the various leaders of those nations declared themselves open to China’s blandishments, they refused to close the door on some new arrangement that might include the United States. New Zealand’s prime minister, John Key, observed that he would consider renaming the TPP the “Trump Pacific Partnership” if it would help bring the new American administration on board; while Mr. Key was obviously joking, his offer to reopen negotiations in search of a bargain that would meet with Washington’s approval seemed genuine enough. Surely no nation in this prosperous, strategically vital area of the world can relish its abandonment by the United States, after 70 years in which the area benefited from American investment, trade and military strength.
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US retreat on trans-Pacific trade could see China step in
The most awkward, and certainly the frostiest, greeting of the day was between US President Barack Obama and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit at the Lima Convention Centre in Lima. It is no secret that a series of diplomatic rows have left relations between the two countries at an all time low. Picture: AFP
The door could be opened again for China to join the world’s largest regional trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, if the US pulls out of the deal, as threatened by president-elect Donald Trump.
The Australian has been told that during closed-door meetings yesterday among member nations of the TPP at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Peru, an option of “going it alone” without the US was raised as a “serious” consideration.
Several of the Pacific Rim leaders had informally agreed they should press ahead to ratify the free-trade deal to reduce tariffs among the 11 remaining members.
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Donald Trump TPP retreat an invitation for Chinese to step in
Trade boffins like nothing better than an acronym and the grand plan was to merge the TPP with the RCEP to create a genuine Asian and Pacific trade zone, but now RCEP looms large. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is China’s response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and brings India and South Korea to the table to create a genuine ASEAN and Asian trade agreement.
Geopolitically it is also important because it is China’s deal and TPP deliberately left China out of the US-led deal.
Just how talks transpire remains to be seen, but Australia would be as keen to get involved in the RCEP as it was in the TPP because both serve as great platforms for future deals.
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Trump sinks Asia trade pact, opening the way for China to lead
An ambitious Asia-Pacific trade pact linking the United States and 11 countries lay in tatters on Tuesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would kill the deal on his first day in office on Jan. 20.
Trump's statement appeared to open the way for China to assume the United States' leadership mantle on trade and diplomacy in Asia. The Republican termed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) "a potential disaster for our country."
China, Japan and South Korea are already in the initial stages of discussing a trilateral trade deal, and Beijing has been pushing its own limited Asian regional trade pact that excludes Washington for the past five years.
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Chinese officials are 'licking their lips' at Trump's decision to kill the TPP
Beijing is more than pleased about Donald Trump turning his back on a major U.S.-led Pacific trade pact.
Ian Bremmer, president of the global intelligence firm Eurasia Group and a closely watched political scientist, said Wednesday that officials in China are excited about President-elect Trump's plan to withdraw from U.S. participation in the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership. The proposed free-trade bloc would have included 12 countries accounting for more than a third of global trade.
President Barack Obama and others had argued that the TPP deal was a way for the United States to continue to assert its leadership — especially in the face of an increasingly powerful China that is eager to replace the U.S. as the main power in the region. Trump's apparent killing of the TPP creates a geopolitical vacuum in the eyes of both Beijing and American allies, Bremmer said.
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Here's What China Plans to Do as Donald Trump Snubs the TPP
The President-elect has called the trade agreement “a potential disaster for our country.”
China will “play its role” in promoting economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would kill an ambitious regional trade pact.
Trump’s statement appeared to open the way for China to assume the United States’ leadership mantle on trade and diplomacy in Asia. The Republican termed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) “a potential disaster for our country.”
China, Japan and South Korea are already in the initial stages of discussing a trilateral trade deal, and Beijing has been pushing its own limited Asian regional trade pact that excludes Washington for the past five years.
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U.S. Trade Deficit with China
In 2015, the total U.S. trade deficit was $531.5 billion. That’s because it imported $2.7618 trillion of goods and services while exporting $2.2303 trillion. The trade deficit with China is responsible for at least 40% of the total U.S. deficit in goods. U.S. goods and services trade with China totaled $598 billion in 2015. Goods exports totaled $116 billion; goods imports totaled $482 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $366 billion in 2015, a 6.6% increase ($23 billion) over 2014, according to the USTR. In the first ten months of 2016, the deficit was $259 billion. American imports of Chinese goods have fallen 6.1 percent year-to-date.
U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past three decades. Fourteen years ago, on December 11, 2001, China acceded to the World Trade Organization. Membership provided incentives to ratchet up productivity-enhancing infrastructure investments which caused labor productivity to soar. Over the past 10 years of so, China has been one of the fastest-growing U.S. export markets. The cumulative U.S. trade deficit with China since it joined the WTO is a staggering $3.5 trillion, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. As it protects its domestic industry from foreign competition, China continues to dump its massive overcapacity in U.S. and other global markets, materially damaging U.S. industries, including steel.
China was the United States’ 3rd largest goods export market in 2015. U.S. goods exports to China in 2015 were $116 billion. U.S. exports to China account for 7.7% of overall U.S. exports in 2015. The top export categories in 2015 were: aircraft ($15 billion), electrical machinery ($13 billion), machinery ($12 billion), miscellaneous grain, seeds, fruit (soybeans) ($11 billion), and vehicles ($11 billion). U.S. agricultural exports to China have grown more than 200 percent over the past decade and China was the United States’ second-largest international market in 2015, according to the USTR. Leading categories include: soybeans ($11 billion), coarse grains (ex. corn) ($2.1 billion), distillers grains ($1.6 billion), hides & skins ($1.3 billion), and cotton ($870 million). U.S. exports of services to China were an estimated $45.4 billion in 2015.
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Full Coverage:
TPP and RCEP: Boon or Bane for ASEAN? - The Asia Foundation
China Pushes Pacific Trade Alternative - The American Interest
China to push alternative trade pact at APEC | The Japan Times
China will promote an alternative to the TPP in Latin America
TASS: Press Review - Press Review: China may offer alternative
Peru says TPP can be replaced with new trade deal, sans U.S. | Reuters
A Trade Deal for the 21st Century: An Alternative to the TPP
Renewing America » Finding a TPP Alternative is Becoming a Priority
Should America Fear China's Alternative to the TPP? | The Diplomat
China's Alternative Diplomacy | The Diplomat
China pushes for its regional trade pact as US-led TPP starts to flounder
China Edging Closer to Accepting TPP Reality - VOA News
China-backed trade pact playing catch-up after U.S.-led TPP deal
China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP
APEC Leaders May Be Looking to China on Trade After Trump's Win
What are the alternatives to the TPP? | TODAYonline
Analysis: RCEP developing in Asia as an alternative to TPP – China
ASEAN-Pacific axis tabled as alternative to TPP - World - The Jakarta
Why China should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership | Brookings
Keeping China In or Out? Beijing Vs Washington on TPP:The Globalist
Beijing plans rival Asia-Pacific trade deal after Trump victory
China economy to the TPP agreement move on to an alternative
Will TPP Stop China's Rise? - Roosevelt Forward
China's Shadow Foreign Policy: Parallel Structures Challenge
APEC Discusses Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area as TPP and RCEP
Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored
Press Review: China may offer alternative to TPP deal, Putin's
From Maritime Asia to Continental Asia: China's Responses to the
TPP 'demise' prompting a global pivot - China Daily
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Quest for a Twenty-first Century
U.S. Allies See Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Check on China
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Wikipedia
'Our rules, not China's': Obama invokes Beijing threat in defense of
U.S. Troubles Over Trump and TPP Risk Emboldening China in Asia
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and China's Corresponding Strategies
Taiwan's challenge if US President-elect Trump withdraws from TPP
You might not like the TPP. You are going to like the alternative less
Trans-Pacific Partnership: China cautiously welcomes deal, hopes
China to push alternative trade pact at Apec, Government & Economy
With TPP advancing, India pins hopes on China-backed trade bloc
Scholarly articles for tpp china containment
Partnership Agreement: A Major Challenge to China's
Containment: A US strategy for confronting China's rise
Deals in the Asia-Pacific: Choosing between the TPP
The TPP and China: The Elephant That Wasn't in the Room
The Containment Fallacy: China and the TPP | Brookings Institution
The TPP: Economic containment of China - The Financial Express
What Will the TPP Mean for China? | Foreign Policy
How China's Exclusion From TPP Could Hurt Its Economic Growth
The TPP Is Not a China Containment Strategy | RealClearWorld
Don't treat trade as a weapon | The Economist
The TPP Risks Making US-China Relations Worse | Al Jazeera America
Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a Step Toward Containment? | Foreign
TPP deal a way for U.S. to reassert primacy over China - The Globe
TPP vs. RCEP: America and China Battle for Control of Pacific Trade
Comparing RCEP with TPP | TODAYonline
TPP vs. RCEP: Trade and the tussle for regional influence in Asia
RCEP vs. TPP | The Diplomat
Should America Fear China's Alternative to the TPP? | The Diplomat
Thought the TPP was a big deal? China's rival free trade pact covers
A tale of two trade pacts in Asia: TPP&RCEP - Ganeshan Wignaraja
Trans-Pacific Partnership versus Comprehensive Economi
RCEP vs. TPP: The Pursuit of Eastern Dominance - Springer
Trade partnership competition: TPP vs RCEP | The Strategist
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Wikipedia
TPP VS THE RCEP: OCCUPYING THE GIANT ASIAN ECONOMY
TPP vs RCEP – Future of Asia's Economic Development | Zoom in Korea
TPP vs. RCEP - Mylo Trade
TPP versus RCEP: What future norms for free trade in the Asia Pacific?
RCEP and TPP: Comparisons and Concerns - Iseas
TPP vs RCEP: What Does It Mean For Businesses in Asia?
Will RCEP compete with the TPP? | East Asia Forum
TPP Versus RCEP: What Are The Odds For Thailand? – Analysis
Presentation by Sanchita Basu Das - Brookings Institution
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE
TPP vs. RCEP: U.S. & China Battle for Pacific Trade | RealClearPolitics
RCEP,TPP誰與爭鋒vs中國美國誰將勝出兼論臺灣加入RCEP或TPP的可能性
TPP? RCEP? Trade jargon explained - BBC News - BBC.com
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
TPP vs RCEP, as a proportion of world population covered - Atlas
China-backed trade pact playing catch-up after U.S.-led TPP deal
RCEP vs TPP - SG Talk
Competitive Mega-regional Trade Agreements - ScholarlyCommons
TPP, RCEP, and FTAAP: Mulitlayered Regional Economic Integration
Background to the TPP vs. RCEP debate
TPP and RCEP in relation to India - CareerRide.com
AmCham Vietnam | TPP vs. RCEP: A new Washington-Beijing tug-of
RCEP versus TPP: New frontier of Sino-U.S. rivalry « DhakaCourier
India's RCEP dilemma - NewsBytes
Comparing Two Competing Paradigms of Regional ... - cloudfront.net
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน? | สำนักงาน
Chinese Global Production Networks in ASEAN
Business Daily－TPP vs RCEP： global economy hegemony
TPP and RCEP: are we witnessing a regional trade bloc war?
PECC - TPP vs RCEP? - Competitor or Complements?
Thailand's tough choice: TPP or RCEP - The Nation
RCEP vs. TPP : FUJITSU RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Trans-Pacific Partnership vs Regional ... - Habibie Center
TPP vs. RCEP: The Battle to Define Asia's Intellectual Property Law
Meet RCEP, a Trade Agreement in Asia That's Even Worse Than TPP
Welcome to the trade deal wars: Escobar | Asia Times
Trade pacts: Torn between two giants - Bangkok Post article
Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs: RCEP
The TPP vs RCEP - what should Australia do? - Economics
TPP: Trans-Pacific Partnership vs RCEP: Regional Comprehensive
GED Blog | The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน?
The American Conservative Union TPP vs. RCEP: America and China
TPP vs. RCEP: Southeast Asia's Trade Dilemma - Carnegie
CDP: TPP Vs RCEP Vs TTIP – Implication on India
Factoring the RCEP and the TPP: China, India and the Politics of
Future of Trading Architecture in Asia Pacific: TPP vs. RCEP
AEC Blog: RCEP v. TPP: The Real Choices Facing ASEAN Members
TPP, TTIP and RCEP - South Asia Economic Journal
Trade and Tobacco Control - The TPP vs. the RCEP and their Impact
TPP and RCEP – Similar yet different - Integration Point
TPP vs. RCEP: battle for control of Pacific trade - Gateway House
RCEP vs. TPP: The Pursuit of Eastern Dominance
圖解TPP與RCEP | 重點新聞| 中央社即時新聞CNA NEWS
RCEP vs TPP: What Future for Asian ... - El Colegio de México
In RCEP vs TPP alphabet trade bloc soup, India refuses to choose
“Mega FTAs in East Asia for Regional Economic Integration: RCEP
China and the TPP - Inter-American Dialogue
TPP vs RCEP: Korea, China Likely to Join US-led Trans-pacific Trade
關於TPP和RCEP 你應該知道的13件事-財經時事-2015-10-06-即時
Arun Mohan Sukumar column: The new Great Game in Asia:The Hindu
Great Power Politics in a Global Economy: Origins - The Berkeley
China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP - The Conversation
Critically examine how will India's participation in the Trans-Pacific
PacNet #40 - Explaining "Competing" Visions: ASEAN-RCEP, TPP
Geopolitics of RCEP and TPP: Implications for India | Vivekananda
RCEP vs TPP | The Brunei Times
RCEP, TPP and China's FTA Strategies - Knowledge Partnership
US v China in FTAs: TPP, Meet the PRC's 'RCEP' | International
TPP vs RCEP by Jihwan Seok on Prezi
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน?
America's big bet | The Economist
Do free-trade agreements like TPP or RCEP normally include visa
TPP versus RCEP: Control of Membership and Agenda Setting by
RCEP and TPP for the Philippines | SEANET 2
Trans-Pacific Partnership - Vision IAS
Global Courtship of ASEAN - - Emerging Markets Insights
Civil society groups reject RCEP: Excessive corporate powers
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Price Sanond
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): An Asian
Will the RCEP Kill the TPP and Why You Never Heard of Either One
CABA: SEA businesses hope TPP, RCEP can co-exist - CNBC
RCEP trade talks in Korea gaining global attention as the emerging
TPP or FTAAP: What It Means for US and the Asia-Pacific Region
ISEAS Perspective edited by Kee Beng Ooi
TPP, RCEP and Global Trade Governance - Stiftung Wissenschaft
PM Disappointed TPP Unlikely to be Passed | REACH
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified
Chitchat Pinky Loong Expressed Disappointment TPP is Dead
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified - Canada Nz
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
4 myths about Trans-Pacific Partnership busted | S'pore Business
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified
TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald Trump: PM Lee
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be
PM Lee disappointed by TPP failure, will seek more clarity at Apec
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified after Trump
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
PM Lee disappointed by TPP fallout following President-elect Trump's
'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified after Trump win: PM Lee
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under ... - SG Talk
Singapore disappointed TPP may not be ratified after Trump win: PM
Trans-Pacific Partnership: vast trade deal made public
TPP trade deal: Who are the winners and losers?
China cautiously welcomes Trans-Pacific free trade deal
Yueh: TPP - the high-stakes deal
TPP and TIPP trade deals are most likely 'dead' under Donald Trump
President-elect Trump's trade stance could nix TPP, boost China
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
2016 presidential candidates on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade
China pushes Asia-Pacific trade deals as Donald Trump win dashes
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
President-elect Donald Trump's trade stance could nix TPP
Trump Win Is The Only Way To Stop TPP Catastrophe | Donald
Donald Trump: My Trans-Pacific Partnership opposition made Hillary
Donald Trump vows to cancel Trans-Pacific Partnership as president
Trump Likens Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal to Rape
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are both wrong about the Trans
Why is Donald Trump Rich? - We've Broken Down Trump's Portfolio
Hillary Clinton once called TPP the 'gold standard.' Here's why
Hillary Clinton's stand on NAFTA and the TPP: It's complicated
Did Hillary Clinton Call the Trans-Pacific Partnership the 'Gold
Hillary Clinton vows to kill Trans-Pacific Partnership she helped
Hillary Clinton says she'll kill TPP - Washington Times
Hillary Clinton: I Oppose TPP Now, I'll Oppose It as President
Donald Trump: My Trans-Pacific Partnership opposition made Hillary
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - Ministry of Trade and Industry
Expose the TPP
China's gain? The collapse of the TPP could be bad for everyone
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Labor joins Coalition in backing larger trade deal to replace TPP
TPP: What is it and why does it matter? - BBC News - BBC.com
The Trans-Pacific Partnership — USTR.gov
TPP Full Text | United States Trade Representative
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement | Electronic Frontier
Australia signals support for Chinese-led trade deals to replace TPP
Consequences of TPP demise go beyond trade, Singapore
This Was the Trans-Pacific Partnership - The New York Times
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Trans-Pacific Partnership - Public Citizen
Trans-Pacific Partnership - International Trade Administration
U.S. Coalition for TPP
The End of the TPP - The Atlantic
Vietnam shelves TPP ratification
Vietnam PM backs off from US-led TPP deal
Vietnam the latest to give up on TPP
Vietnam Gives Up On TPP, China Now Stronger Than Ever
PM: Integration to continue regardless of TPP
Vietnam economy under no Trump pressure: experts
Vietnam: Prime Minister Shelves TPP Ratification
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
Vietnam the latest to give up on TPP
Vietnam shelves TPP ratification
Vietnam Gives Up On TPP, China Now Stronger Than Ever
Prime Minister takes floor at NA hearing
PM: Integration to continue regardless of TPP
Vietnam: Prime Minister Shelves TPP Ratification
Another blow to Obama's TPP after Vietnam says it won't ratify pact
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
No"enough basis" to submit TPP participation to Vietnamese parliament
The Trans-Pacific Partnership | The White House
Obama Is Right on the Trans-Pacific Partnership - Bloomberg View
Why is Obama Pushing the TPP? - BillMoyers.com
Why Obama Is Still Trying to Pass the T.P.P. - The New Yorker
Obama pushes trade in Asia, but has 2016 killed the TPP? - CNN.com
Today's Must Reads on CBR: Obama Hails Enforcement on Trade
China Business Review
Obama puts Congress on notice: TPP is coming - POLITICO
Obama Readies One Last Push for Trans-Pacific Partnership
In Pushing TPP, President Obama Says He Has 'Better Argument
Obama Still Has a Shot at Passing the TPP - Fortune
Today's Must Reads on CBR: President Obama: The TPP would let
APEC should push ahead on economic cooperation agenda: PM Lee
PM Lee focuses on SMEs and workers to push for inclusive growth
S'pore to amend legislation to bring TPP into effect next year
Soong and Xi talk ties, trade in brief exchange
S'pore to amend legislation to bring TPP into effect next year: PM Lee
Taipei glad to see Soong-Xi meeting at APEC
Soong-Xi meet shows cross-strait ties 'not so bad': scholar
Soong-Xi meet touches on cross-Taiwan Strait business exchanges
APEC Summit: Soong engages China's Xi at APEC summit in Lima
Singapore PM at Apec summit, but meeting with Xi unlikely
Soong to meet more Southeast Asian leaders at APEC summit
Taiwan envoy meets Singapore prime minister at APEC meet
Preserve gains made with free trade in Asia-Pacific: PM
Taiwan's APEC envoy meets with world leaders
Taiwan at APEC welcomes cross-strait interaction: official
Risk of destabilising if US adopts anti-trade policies, says PM Lee
US pulling back from global trade will be 'big minus': PM Lee
TPP leaders vow to press on with ratification of trade deal
Global trade at risk if US turns insular: PM
Trump says will quit TPP trade pact on day one of presidency
Donald Trump to 'withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership' on day one
Trump vows to withdraw from TPP 'on day one'
Trump vows to withdraw from TPP deal, silent on NAFTA
Trump vows to withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership 'on day one'
Trump says quitting trade deal and tackling abuses of visa programmes
Day One of Trump Presidency: Withdraw From the TPP
Donald Trump confirms TPP to be dumped, visa program probed
Donald Trump to withdraw from TPP
US president-elect vows to withdraw from TPP on first day in office
Donald Trump vows to withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
I'll quit TPP on day one as president: Donald Trump
Trump overshadows Obama push for Asian free trade accord
Trump plans to withdraw US from TPP in first days of presidency
Pacific Rim States Can (And Will) Move Forward on Trade Without US
Xi Jinping Attends APEC CEO Summit and Delivers Keynote Speech
Donald Trump Outlines Policy Plan for First His 100 Days in Office
Donald Trump lays out agenda for first 100 days: US to leave TPP
Trump Says He Will Withdraw From TPP on Day One
A Trump Pacific Partnership
Sneakers show limits of trade policy in reviving jobs for Trump
Trump: US to quit TPP trade deal on first day in office
A Retreat From TPP Would Empower China
Don't count on a crash from a Trump trade war | Bangkok Post
US retreat on trans-Pacific trade could see China step in
Donald Trump will withdraw from Asian trade deal
Trump says he will dump the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal on his 1st day
APEC Summit: China eyes free-trade deals post-Trump
Donald Trump to withdraw US from Trans-Pacific Partnership
Stalled US-led Trans-Pacific Pact puts China in free-trade pole position
Trump Says TPP Trade Is Toast: What Will China Do?
Sky News: Trump to withdraw US from Trans-Pacific Partnership
Trump to scrap Trans Pacific Partnership deal on his first day in office
Trump says U.S. will withdraw from Trans-Pacific Partnership
China, Russia should promote est of free trade zone in Asia-Pacific
Reaction: US President-elect Donald Trump to dump TPP
What Asia-Pacific trade pacts could replace the TPP?
Asia-Pacific leaders defend trade against Trump tide
TPP could be renamed 'Trump-Pacific Partnership' to save deal, NZ's PM
Xi's APEC speech puts China, Asia-Pacific in global limelight
Lee tells Apec killing trans-pacific treaty will destabilize global trade
Donald Trump confirms US will start withdrawal from TPP
Donald Trump will withdraw US from TPP 'on day one' as he gives major
China`s President Xi following Donald Trump`s promises to scrap trade
Key jokes about rebranding the TPP as the 'Trump-Pacific Partnership'
Donald Trump: I'll quit the TPPA on day one as President
Chile, Peru to join China-led trade partnership
Trump Pacific Partnership? New Zealand PM's idea to save TPP
US to quit Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, says Donald Trump
Russia, China To Push For Free-Trade Area In Asia-Pacific Region
China's Influence Grows in Ashes of Trans-Pacific Trade Pact
Trump promises withdraw from TPP on first day in office
Donald Trump to withdraw US from Trans-Pacific Partnership
China may seize Asia free trade leadership amid Trump's win
China, Russia to Push for Free-Trade Area in Asia-Pacific
China doubles down on free trade as Trump's protectionism leaves a void
John Key thinks NZ can negotiate a 'Trump Pacific Partnership' at APEC
Pacific leaders urged to defend free trade after Trump win
Here's what Google, Facebook & Apple lost when Trump's win killed TPP
TPP: Trump Pacific Partnership?
Key proposes 'Trump Pacific Partnership'
Donald Trump says in new video he'll withdraw from TPP and investigate
Trump outlines plans for first 100 days as President; TPP will be dumped
Donald Trump vows to withdraw from TPP on day one
Trump says he will withdraw US from Pacific trade deal
Trump says he'll pull US out of TPP
PM still wants TPP, Trump flags withdrawal
Readout of the President's Meeting with TPP Leaders
China takes the driver's seat on free trade
Trump to withdraw from TPPA deal on first day in office
Trump to withdraw from TPP on day 1 of presidency
Trump to Issue EO on Day One of Presidency to Withdraw US From TPP
Trump: I'm Pulling Out of TPP on Day One
Trump vows to withdraw from TPP on first day in office
As Trump era dawns, China moves to fill global leadership vacuum
Donald Trump Outlines Policy Plans for First 100 Days in Office
How China Could Emerge As The World's Global Leader During Trump
Trump pledges US withdrawal from TPP on 'day one'
At Asia-Pacific talks, 21 defend free trade
Donald Trump's greatest challenge will be China
Prices of Metals Climb as Free Trade Zone Backed by China
Don't Bet On a Crash From a Trump Trade War
Celebrating the Death of the TPP Trade Deal
Is Trump about to trigger a global trade war?
Metal Prices Climb as China Backs Free-Trade Zone
Trump vows to back out of TPP as soon as he takes office
Obama confronts an uncertain future on trade with the likely death of TPP
US-China tensions will continue under Trump
Donald Trump Outlines Priorities in Video While Restricting Press Access
Singapore Stumbles on China's Road
China Frictions May See Singapore Miss Out on Belt-Road Billions
Despite strong historical and cultural ties to China, the tiny state of Singapore has found itself in Beijing’s crosshairs, in part for its stance over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. As other Southeast Asian leaders lined up to meet President Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing this week for his Belt-and-Road Initiative, Singapore was represented by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
China views Singapore as being less supportive of Xi’s plan because unlike other countries that announced their leaders would attend without requiring a formal invitation, Singapore sought an invite, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information.
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Singapore Stumbles on China's Road
TPP: Trump Pacific Palisades
Singapore And The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Embracing, Leaning & Tilting towards China
Singapore as a 21st century maritime silk road
The "One Belt, One Road" 一带一路 initiative
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
RCEP Members
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia. RCEP is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which excludes China and India.
RCEP potentially includes more than 3 billion people or 45% of the world's population, and a combined GDP of about $21.3 trillion, accounting for about 40 percent of world trade.[4] The combined GDP of potential RCEP members surpassed the combined GDP of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members in 2007. Continued growth, particularly in China, India and Indonesia could see total GDP in RCEP grow to over $100 trillion by 2050, roughly double the project size of TPP economies
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TPP and RCEP – Similar yet different
There are a lot of conversations happening right now about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), especially within the US who is leading the charge for this trade agreement.
On the other side of the world, China is pushing a different trade agreement - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Both agreements could revolutionize trade across the world – the TPP has been called NAFTA on steroids while the RCEP could possibly untangle the Asian noodle bowl of trade agreements.
Even though both sides have publicly stated that the agreements will be done by the end of 2015, the reality is with the opposition strong for both and some major obstacles still ahead, it may likely push well into 2016 before anything concrete is produced.
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The Ministerial Conference of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
On November 3-4, the RCEP Ministerial Conference was held in Cebu, Philippines. Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen, leading the Chinese delegation consisting of members from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, attended the conference. The participating ministers reiterated the leaders ’instruction on how to conclude RCEP negotiations quickly, and how to evaluate the progress of the negotiation comprehensively. They also had in-depth discussions on key issues in the three core fields including trade in goods, service trade and investment, and provided strategic guidance for the next negotiation.
The participating ministers welcomed the completion of the chapter on economic and technological cooperation during the 15th round of negotiation held in Tianjin, China. The important progress generates power for the negotiations, and will contribute to narrowing down the development gap among the member countries. The effective implementation and application of the agreement will maximize the benefits of RCEP.
The participating ministers urged the officials to take part in the negotiations, grasp the active power brought by the above progress, remain strong willed, make great efforts, and reach a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and reciprocal RCEP agreement according to the requirements in the Guiding Principle and Goals of RCEP Negotiations. Besides, against the background of the globally weak economy, unbalanced growth of the developed economies , the slowing-down growth of emerging markets, the weak expectation of global trade growth and the rising sentiments for the trade protectionism, the ministers emphasized the urgency of concluding RCEP negotiations through a package solution. They thought this will help the confidence of the world economy.
related: China FTA Network
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Asia’s Murky Roadmap for Growth
Sweeping change is afoot in Asia. China has clearly become the single biggest power within Asia, and Beijing has outlined clear visions for its diplomatic and economic aspirations across the region and beyond. Washington, on the other hand, is seemingly going the other direction and less willing to be as formidable a Pacific presence as it has been. Having spent over seven decades defining and protecting regional security, there are growing doubts about U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, and how Washington views its future as a Pacific power.
One issue, however, is clear. Asia remains not only the world’s most populous region, but also the most dynamic economically. As a slew of multilateral frameworks for cooperation emerge, the question remains whether any of them will be successful in ensuring continued growth across Asia and the world.
Of course, there is broad consensus among Asian nations that political and economic stability go hand in hand. There is also a shared belief that increased exports can lead to growth, and that the region could benefit from greater investment in infrastructure development. Yet there is concern that some of the proposals currently under consideration could actually increase tensions, rather than encourage greater cooperation, given the competing visions for leadership in Asia.
related: FTAs in East Asia: Economic Integration or Economic Spheres of Influence?
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TPP, RCEP and AIIB
Developments in forming alliances among regional and global economic partners have emerged very strongly in recent times. The Tans Pacific Partnership (TPP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are notable not just as major alliances but more importantly for the change they are likely to cause to global economy and commerce in the days ahead.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed trade agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries concerning a variety of matters of economic policy, about which agreement was reached on October 5, 2015 after 8 years of negotiations. Member countries of the TPP are: Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Vietnam. Total population of TPP countries is 11 per cent of the global population. Total GDP of TPP countries is US$ 27.64 trillion.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a FTA negotiation that has been developed among 16 countries: the 10 Members of ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and six other countries with which ASEAN has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. In relation to RCEP these six non-ASEAN countries are known as the ASEAN Free Trade Partners (AFPs). The participants in the RCEP FTA negotiations have a total population of over 3 billion people and a trade share estimated at around 27 per cent of global trade (based on 2012 WTO figures), covering GDP of around $US21 trillion (2013 IMF figures).
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TPP vs. RCEP: Trade and the tussle for regional influence in Asia
After the United States' recent diplomatic disaster of trying to prevent general adherence to China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), US policy makers have been under pressure to strengthen their presence in Asia on the trade front: By concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a potentially historic trade agreement linking the US, Japan and ten other countries, China would see its goal of reducing Washington's presence in its neighborhood severely thwarted. Furthermore, the TPP would connect the United States to the economic center of the 21st century, one of the fastest-growing regions of the world, and cement its relationship to Japan, its key ally. It would be the first real manifestation of Obama's pivot to Asia, which so far consisted of mere rhetoric.
China, which is excluded from the countries negotiating the TPP, has responded by promoting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the United States, and which would promote rapprochement between Beijing and Tokyo. The tussle for regional influence between the United States and China has thus also taken hold of the debate about trade agreements.
Just like the TTP, the RCEP, whose negotiations were launched at the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in November 2012, would connect a large chunk of the global economy, placing China and Japan at the center, and harmonize trade-related rules, investment and competition regimes. The RCEP includes a vast array of rules about investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and government regulation. Notably, India, set to play key economic role in Asia in the coming decades, is also part of the grouping.
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TPP and RCEP: Boon or Bane for ASEAN?
2015 is a critical year for the Asia-Pacific region. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), backed by the U.S. Senate’s recent approval of “fast-track” authority, is now entering the final round of negotiations in Hawaii. Another Asian free trade agreement (FTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), is also due by the end of 2015, with a round of substantive talks in August and another to come in October.
With TPP spearheaded by the U.S. and RCEP led by China, there has been a lot of attention lately on how the two countries are using the FTAs to benefit themselves and keep each other out of their respective regional economic arrangements. Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states are also playing an important role in the future of trade arrangements in the Asia-Pacific. As its economic cooperation and integration efforts have reached a crucial stage, ASEAN is concerned not only about the welfare effects of TPP and RCEP on its member states, but also about their impact on the development of ASEAN as an economic community.
One of the most widely recognized benefits for ASEAN of these high-level regional agreements is to calm the “noodle bowl” effect of small, overlapping FTAs. As common frameworks, RCEP and TPP are expected to help unify the trade standards in ASEAN’s other FTAs. However, recent studies, including a working paper from the Asian Development Bank, have expressed concerns that the two FTAs may affect ASEAN solidarity and hinder its internal economic cooperation and integration.
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TPP vs. RCEP
East Asia is moving from business-driven integration to institution-driven integration, where the multilateral norms and principles are to be maintained. China’s rapid growth fueled the growth of the entire region, increased integration, on the other hand, made the region vulnerable to the risks of dependence on China’s economy and hence, the fluctuations of the global market.
Despite the importance the Asia-Pacific trading system, the task of building regional institutions has been very crucial. Two major trade agreements, TPP and RCEP, stand to define the parameters of economic integration in Asia, arguably the world’s most dynamic region. The Asian Development Bank estimates that the region’s developing countries will grow by 6.3 percent in both 2015 and 2016, making it one of the most dynamic regions in the world.
The rise of mega-regionals—such as RCEP, and the TPP suggests that the world trade system is more like a jigsaw puzzle than a spaghetti bowl these days. TPP and RCEP are part of the efforts to disentangle the “spaghetti bowl” of different agreements. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a multi-regional economic partnership between, includes the ten (ASEAN) member countries, plus the big three in Northeast Asia – China, Japan, South Korea – as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the powerhouse on the other side of the region, India.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
There are 16 countries involved in RCEP: the 10 members of ASEAN—Brunei-Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam plus the six countries with which ASEAN has free trade agreements—Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand. These six countries are known as the ASEAN Free Trade Partners (AFPs).
All RCEP countries have now submitted initial offers for trade in goods and trade in services, as well as initial reservation lists for investment. Initial requests have been submitted in goods and services by most countries, and some requests have been submitted in relation to initial reservation lists in investment.
Trade in services market access negotiations continue on a bilateral and plurilateral basis. Consultations and engagement on investment liberalisation continued on the basis of a negative list structure.
In goods, negotiators continued to engage in discussions on the way forward, in light of the statement last year that leaders were looking forward to the conclusion of RCEP negotiations in 2016. The negotiations also advanced consideration of how to respond to concerns expressed by business in many countries about non-tariff measures.
related: Guiding Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the RCEP
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RCEP VS TPP
While China is in RCEP, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
But not only it RCEP just first step before China next step for bigger Economic partnership. China master economic program its called "One Belt, One Road"
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, also known as The Belt and Road (abbreviated B&R), One Belt, One Road (abbreviated OBOR) or the Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy and framework, proposed by Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between the People's Republic of China and the rest of Eurasia, which consists of two main components, the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt" (SREB) and oceangoing "Maritime Silk Road" (MSR).
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A vision of global free trade? The new regionalism and the ‘building blocs’ debate
RCEP, TPP, and FTAAP Tracks
While the WTO Ministerial meeting in Bali in December may deliver on individual initiatives related to such themes as agriculture, trade facilitation and development, a major breakthrough on the “single undertaking” is far from sight. At the same time, mega-regional agreements are fast emerging as a key feature of the global architecture. This “new regionalism” could pose risks, but successful mega-accords will create a strong incentive for a global accord; hence, the “new regionalism” will arguably be a powerful “building bloc” that will ultimately support multilateralism.
Mega-free trade agreements on the horizon - The Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are two mega-regional agreements notable for their sheer size, overlap, and comprehensiveness. Moreover, the 2010 APEC “Yokohama Vision” aims to bring together members of these groups into a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) with negotiations to begin in 2020. Figure 1 shows the membership in each of these organizations, including two versions of the TPP: existing negotiating members (TPP12) and a possible scenario in which Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, join (each has expressed some interest in doing so), the TPP16. If negotiations go according to plan, these mega-free trade agreements (FTAs) could be in place within ten years and completely in effect within twenty years.
The “noodle bowl” of Asia-Pacific bilateral FTAs is giving way to the economic logic of consolidated regional FTAs that not only reduce the negative effects of bilateral FTAs but are more conducive to production networks that have been driving trade and investment in the region. This “new regionalism” will cut costs associated with bilateral FTAs and has many advantages over noodle-bowl bilateralism. It offers great economic benefits and a vision of future of global free trade.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): An attack against TPP?
The objective of this trade agreement is “to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement that will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues.“
Ultimately, RCEP aims to provide pathways to free trade area throughout the Asia-Pacific. It provides a basis for a more open trade and investment in this region and addresses concerns about overlapping bilateral agreement through regional liberalisation.
This is in line with the Australian government’s strategy for lowering trade barriers and securing improved market access for Australian exporters of goods and services, and for Australian investors.
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TPP 'demise' prompting a global pivot
US President Barack Obama's landmark Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was already on life support before his successor, Donald Trump, promised American voters worried by the impact of globalization that he would kill it and bury it.
Now that the Republican-dominated Congress has announced it will not discuss ratification of the TPP during the remainder of Obama's term, all that is left for the outgoing president to do is to read the funeral oration for the proposed Pacific Rim trade pact that had been the keystone of his administration's so-called "pivot to Asia" strategy.
That may come when Obama joins other leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Lima, Peru, on Saturday and Sunday.
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Trump’s election pushes China to offer alternative to TPP
Donald Trump’s unanticipated, colossal victory has shaken up all prospects of ratifying a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and this may radically change the talks on free trade in Asia, Kommersant business daily writes. At the APEC summit on November 19-20, China is expected to promote an alternative project - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Russia’s key initiative at the summit will be suggesting that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) should become one of the platforms for integration in the region. Director of the Russian APEC Study Center Tatyana Flegontova told Kommersant that this year, the parties hammered out a strategic study on the prospects of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). If the TPP and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) had previously been considered a keystone, this time the feeling is "we managed to show our colleagues that we will be able to participate in this zone only as the EAEU."
The TPP has more chances to be created now than the free trade zone as part of APEC. For Russia, the failure of major integration projects by the US and China could signal the need to revise its mid-term foreign trade policy. So far, the prospects of such an ambitious free trade zone are unclear as the participants are not ready yet to genuinely negotiate, Flegontova said. China suggested sealing an agreement by 2020, but the US opposed the plans. Now, Beijing is coming out against the commitments on the TPP and the RCEP in joint declarations.
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Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored Trade Deal
TPP Dead, China Strives to Fill Void
President Obama made a foolish decision to not welcome China in the formation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
It was ludicrous for Obama to leave China out of things. China is the second biggest economy in the world, third if you treat the EU as a block. Had China been in the deal all along, we may not have seen the ludicrous provision that allowed companies to sue governments. That provision was one of the key reasons the deal failed.
With the election of Trump, TPP is officially dead. China, not the US, will be at the center of a new Asian trade pact.
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Celebrating the Death of the TPP Trade Deal
In all practical senses, U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is over, at least for now. The Washington Post reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Congress will not seek to ratify the trade deal during the lame-duck session, essentially the last hope of the Obama Administration to pass the deal.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said the GOP does not have enough votes to pass TPP in the House, with soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, confirming the deal will not be approved.
How did this historic defeat happen? One answer is people-power built around widespread anger over the damage that earlier trade deals, such as NAFTA, have done to America’s manufacturing base and the decent-paying jobs that went with it.
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As Trump era dawns, China moves to fill global leadership vacuum
China is moving after Donald Trump's election win to claim the mantle of the world's champion of free trade and the fight against climate change, prompting a melancholy warning from President Barack Obama that the US risks getting left behind in Asia.
Mr Obama met in Peru on Sunday with leaders of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that Mr Trump vowed to kill on the campaign trail along with the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Mr Obama said that TPP members told him they want to move forward with the pact, "preferably" with the US.
"I believe that TPP is a plus for America's economy," Mr Obama told reporters while attending meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the first major global summit since Mr Trump's win.
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China takes the driver's seat on free trade
Two months before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the next US President and the likely end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, signs emerge that the Asia-Pacific region is turning towards a Plan B.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to pull the US out of the 12-nation mega trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a vital element in President Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia strategy.
The trade deal has been viewed by many as a means for the US to deepen its economic engagement in the Asia-Pacific region, while helping Washington counter Beijing's growing influence. China is currently not part of the TPP.
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PM still wants TPP, Trump flags withdrawal
Australia still wants the Trans-Pacific Partnership to succeed even with US president-elect Donald Trump vowing to withdraw from the trade pact, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
It was up to Mr Trump and his new Congress to make decisions in what they believed was in their nation's interest.
"It is very clear that from Australia's point of view, getting greater access for Australian exports ... to those big markets is manifestly in our interest," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
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China, Russia should promote establishment of free trade zone in Asia-Pacific
China’s President Xi Jinping
China’s President Xi Jinping during a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Lima (Peru) said China and Russia should support the process of forming in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) of a free trade zone.
"Russia is an important member of APEC, and both countries should improve cooperation in the framework of this forum, should implement important agreements, reached at the meeting this year, which include consensus reached in Beijing," the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted the country leader. "The countries should enforce the measures to promote the process of establishing a free trade zone in APR, and also favor successful results of the summit in Lima as we all APEC’s even bigger input in the economic growth within APR and globally."
Russia’s presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier, "the leaders supported strengthening of cooperation within the APEC for the purpose of delivering Bogor goals [a set of targeted goals for realizing free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific - TASS]."
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A Trump Pacific Partnership
TO THE extent the divided American electorate can be said to agree on anything after Nov. 8, it would seem to be broad rejection of “trade deals” such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Both major-party candidates, Republican winner Donald Trump and Democratic loser Hillary Clinton — as well as her erstwhile primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — opposed it. Not surprisingly, the Senate will not take up the TPP in the lame-duck session.
Therefore, there was a certain pathos to President Obama’s valedictory performance at last weekend’s Asia-Pacific economic summit. With Mr. Trump, the most vehement protectionist to win the presidency in recent memory, preparing to take over at the White House on Jan. 20, Mr. Obama urged the region’s leaders not to give up on the TPP or the American presence in Asia that it would embody and perpetuate. Meanwhile, China’s strongman, Xi Jinping, offered membership in its alternative to the TPP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a less ambitious tariff-cutting plan whose main impact would be to substitute Beijing for Washington as the Asia-Pacific region’s economic and, potentially, strategic heavyweight.
Abandoning the TPP would be a self-inflicted injury to the United States and its democratic partners, from the west coast of South America to Australia to Japan. Yet even as the various leaders of those nations declared themselves open to China’s blandishments, they refused to close the door on some new arrangement that might include the United States. New Zealand’s prime minister, John Key, observed that he would consider renaming the TPP the “Trump Pacific Partnership” if it would help bring the new American administration on board; while Mr. Key was obviously joking, his offer to reopen negotiations in search of a bargain that would meet with Washington’s approval seemed genuine enough. Surely no nation in this prosperous, strategically vital area of the world can relish its abandonment by the United States, after 70 years in which the area benefited from American investment, trade and military strength.
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US retreat on trans-Pacific trade could see China step in
The door could be opened again for China to join the world’s largest regional trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, if the US pulls out of the deal, as threatened by president-elect Donald Trump.
The Australian has been told that during closed-door meetings yesterday among member nations of the TPP at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Peru, an option of “going it alone” without the US was raised as a “serious” consideration.
Several of the Pacific Rim leaders had informally agreed they should press ahead to ratify the free-trade deal to reduce tariffs among the 11 remaining members.
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Donald Trump TPP retreat an invitation for Chinese to step in
Trade boffins like nothing better than an acronym and the grand plan was to merge the TPP with the RCEP to create a genuine Asian and Pacific trade zone, but now RCEP looms large. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is China’s response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and brings India and South Korea to the table to create a genuine ASEAN and Asian trade agreement.
Geopolitically it is also important because it is China’s deal and TPP deliberately left China out of the US-led deal.
Just how talks transpire remains to be seen, but Australia would be as keen to get involved in the RCEP as it was in the TPP because both serve as great platforms for future deals.
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Trump sinks Asia trade pact, opening the way for China to lead
An ambitious Asia-Pacific trade pact linking the United States and 11 countries lay in tatters on Tuesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would kill the deal on his first day in office on Jan. 20.
Trump's statement appeared to open the way for China to assume the United States' leadership mantle on trade and diplomacy in Asia. The Republican termed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) "a potential disaster for our country."
China, Japan and South Korea are already in the initial stages of discussing a trilateral trade deal, and Beijing has been pushing its own limited Asian regional trade pact that excludes Washington for the past five years.
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Chinese officials are 'licking their lips' at Trump's decision to kill the TPP
Beijing is more than pleased about Donald Trump turning his back on a major U.S.-led Pacific trade pact.
Ian Bremmer, president of the global intelligence firm Eurasia Group and a closely watched political scientist, said Wednesday that officials in China are excited about President-elect Trump's plan to withdraw from U.S. participation in the planned Trans-Pacific Partnership. The proposed free-trade bloc would have included 12 countries accounting for more than a third of global trade.
President Barack Obama and others had argued that the TPP deal was a way for the United States to continue to assert its leadership — especially in the face of an increasingly powerful China that is eager to replace the U.S. as the main power in the region. Trump's apparent killing of the TPP creates a geopolitical vacuum in the eyes of both Beijing and American allies, Bremmer said.
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Here's What China Plans to Do as Donald Trump Snubs the TPP
China will “play its role” in promoting economic integration in the Asia-Pacific, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would kill an ambitious regional trade pact.
Trump’s statement appeared to open the way for China to assume the United States’ leadership mantle on trade and diplomacy in Asia. The Republican termed the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) “a potential disaster for our country.”
China, Japan and South Korea are already in the initial stages of discussing a trilateral trade deal, and Beijing has been pushing its own limited Asian regional trade pact that excludes Washington for the past five years.
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U.S. Trade Deficit with China
In 2015, the total U.S. trade deficit was $531.5 billion. That’s because it imported $2.7618 trillion of goods and services while exporting $2.2303 trillion. The trade deficit with China is responsible for at least 40% of the total U.S. deficit in goods. U.S. goods and services trade with China totaled $598 billion in 2015. Goods exports totaled $116 billion; goods imports totaled $482 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $366 billion in 2015, a 6.6% increase ($23 billion) over 2014, according to the USTR. In the first ten months of 2016, the deficit was $259 billion. American imports of Chinese goods have fallen 6.1 percent year-to-date.
U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past three decades. Fourteen years ago, on December 11, 2001, China acceded to the World Trade Organization. Membership provided incentives to ratchet up productivity-enhancing infrastructure investments which caused labor productivity to soar. Over the past 10 years of so, China has been one of the fastest-growing U.S. export markets. The cumulative U.S. trade deficit with China since it joined the WTO is a staggering $3.5 trillion, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. As it protects its domestic industry from foreign competition, China continues to dump its massive overcapacity in U.S. and other global markets, materially damaging U.S. industries, including steel.
China was the United States’ 3rd largest goods export market in 2015. U.S. goods exports to China in 2015 were $116 billion. U.S. exports to China account for 7.7% of overall U.S. exports in 2015. The top export categories in 2015 were: aircraft ($15 billion), electrical machinery ($13 billion), machinery ($12 billion), miscellaneous grain, seeds, fruit (soybeans) ($11 billion), and vehicles ($11 billion). U.S. agricultural exports to China have grown more than 200 percent over the past decade and China was the United States’ second-largest international market in 2015, according to the USTR. Leading categories include: soybeans ($11 billion), coarse grains (ex. corn) ($2.1 billion), distillers grains ($1.6 billion), hides & skins ($1.3 billion), and cotton ($870 million). U.S. exports of services to China were an estimated $45.4 billion in 2015.
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Full Coverage:
TPP and RCEP: Boon or Bane for ASEAN? - The Asia Foundation
China Pushes Pacific Trade Alternative - The American Interest
China to push alternative trade pact at APEC | The Japan Times
China will promote an alternative to the TPP in Latin America
TASS: Press Review - Press Review: China may offer alternative
Peru says TPP can be replaced with new trade deal, sans U.S. | Reuters
A Trade Deal for the 21st Century: An Alternative to the TPP
Renewing America » Finding a TPP Alternative is Becoming a Priority
Should America Fear China's Alternative to the TPP? | The Diplomat
China's Alternative Diplomacy | The Diplomat
China pushes for its regional trade pact as US-led TPP starts to flounder
China Edging Closer to Accepting TPP Reality - VOA News
China-backed trade pact playing catch-up after U.S.-led TPP deal
China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP
APEC Leaders May Be Looking to China on Trade After Trump's Win
What are the alternatives to the TPP? | TODAYonline
Analysis: RCEP developing in Asia as an alternative to TPP – China
ASEAN-Pacific axis tabled as alternative to TPP - World - The Jakarta
Why China should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership | Brookings
Keeping China In or Out? Beijing Vs Washington on TPP:The Globalist
Beijing plans rival Asia-Pacific trade deal after Trump victory
China economy to the TPP agreement move on to an alternative
Will TPP Stop China's Rise? - Roosevelt Forward
China's Shadow Foreign Policy: Parallel Structures Challenge
APEC Discusses Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area as TPP and RCEP
Australia Snubs Obama, Dumps TPP, Opts For China-Sponsored
Press Review: China may offer alternative to TPP deal, Putin's
From Maritime Asia to Continental Asia: China's Responses to the
TPP 'demise' prompting a global pivot - China Daily
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Quest for a Twenty-first Century
U.S. Allies See Trans-Pacific Partnership as a Check on China
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Wikipedia
'Our rules, not China's': Obama invokes Beijing threat in defense of
U.S. Troubles Over Trump and TPP Risk Emboldening China in Asia
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and China's Corresponding Strategies
Taiwan's challenge if US President-elect Trump withdraws from TPP
You might not like the TPP. You are going to like the alternative less
Trans-Pacific Partnership: China cautiously welcomes deal, hopes
China to push alternative trade pact at Apec, Government & Economy
With TPP advancing, India pins hopes on China-backed trade bloc
Scholarly articles for tpp china containment
Partnership Agreement: A Major Challenge to China's
Containment: A US strategy for confronting China's rise
Deals in the Asia-Pacific: Choosing between the TPP
The TPP and China: The Elephant That Wasn't in the Room
The Containment Fallacy: China and the TPP | Brookings Institution
The TPP: Economic containment of China - The Financial Express
What Will the TPP Mean for China? | Foreign Policy
How China's Exclusion From TPP Could Hurt Its Economic Growth
The TPP Is Not a China Containment Strategy | RealClearWorld
Don't treat trade as a weapon | The Economist
The TPP Risks Making US-China Relations Worse | Al Jazeera America
Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a Step Toward Containment? | Foreign
TPP deal a way for U.S. to reassert primacy over China - The Globe
TPP vs. RCEP: America and China Battle for Control of Pacific Trade
Comparing RCEP with TPP | TODAYonline
TPP vs. RCEP: Trade and the tussle for regional influence in Asia
RCEP vs. TPP | The Diplomat
Should America Fear China's Alternative to the TPP? | The Diplomat
Thought the TPP was a big deal? China's rival free trade pact covers
A tale of two trade pacts in Asia: TPP&RCEP - Ganeshan Wignaraja
Trans-Pacific Partnership versus Comprehensive Economi
RCEP vs. TPP: The Pursuit of Eastern Dominance - Springer
Trade partnership competition: TPP vs RCEP | The Strategist
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Wikipedia
TPP VS THE RCEP: OCCUPYING THE GIANT ASIAN ECONOMY
TPP vs RCEP – Future of Asia's Economic Development | Zoom in Korea
TPP vs. RCEP - Mylo Trade
TPP versus RCEP: What future norms for free trade in the Asia Pacific?
RCEP and TPP: Comparisons and Concerns - Iseas
TPP vs RCEP: What Does It Mean For Businesses in Asia?
Will RCEP compete with the TPP? | East Asia Forum
TPP Versus RCEP: What Are The Odds For Thailand? – Analysis
Presentation by Sanchita Basu Das - Brookings Institution
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE
TPP vs. RCEP: U.S. & China Battle for Pacific Trade | RealClearPolitics
RCEP,TPP誰與爭鋒vs中國美國誰將勝出兼論臺灣加入RCEP或TPP的可能性
TPP? RCEP? Trade jargon explained - BBC News - BBC.com
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
TPP vs RCEP, as a proportion of world population covered - Atlas
China-backed trade pact playing catch-up after U.S.-led TPP deal
RCEP vs TPP - SG Talk
Competitive Mega-regional Trade Agreements - ScholarlyCommons
TPP, RCEP, and FTAAP: Mulitlayered Regional Economic Integration
Background to the TPP vs. RCEP debate
TPP and RCEP in relation to India - CareerRide.com
AmCham Vietnam | TPP vs. RCEP: A new Washington-Beijing tug-of
RCEP versus TPP: New frontier of Sino-U.S. rivalry « DhakaCourier
India's RCEP dilemma - NewsBytes
Comparing Two Competing Paradigms of Regional ... - cloudfront.net
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน? | สำนักงาน
Chinese Global Production Networks in ASEAN
Business Daily－TPP vs RCEP： global economy hegemony
TPP and RCEP: are we witnessing a regional trade bloc war?
PECC - TPP vs RCEP? - Competitor or Complements?
Thailand's tough choice: TPP or RCEP - The Nation
RCEP vs. TPP : FUJITSU RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Trans-Pacific Partnership vs Regional ... - Habibie Center
TPP vs. RCEP: The Battle to Define Asia's Intellectual Property Law
Meet RCEP, a Trade Agreement in Asia That's Even Worse Than TPP
Welcome to the trade deal wars: Escobar | Asia Times
Trade pacts: Torn between two giants - Bangkok Post article
Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economic Affairs: RCEP
The TPP vs RCEP - what should Australia do? - Economics
TPP: Trans-Pacific Partnership vs RCEP: Regional Comprehensive
GED Blog | The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน?
The American Conservative Union TPP vs. RCEP: America and China
TPP vs. RCEP: Southeast Asia's Trade Dilemma - Carnegie
CDP: TPP Vs RCEP Vs TTIP – Implication on India
Factoring the RCEP and the TPP: China, India and the Politics of
Future of Trading Architecture in Asia Pacific: TPP vs. RCEP
AEC Blog: RCEP v. TPP: The Real Choices Facing ASEAN Members
TPP, TTIP and RCEP - South Asia Economic Journal
Trade and Tobacco Control - The TPP vs. the RCEP and their Impact
TPP and RCEP – Similar yet different - Integration Point
TPP vs. RCEP: battle for control of Pacific trade - Gateway House
RCEP vs. TPP: The Pursuit of Eastern Dominance
圖解TPP與RCEP | 重點新聞| 中央社即時新聞CNA NEWS
RCEP vs TPP: What Future for Asian ... - El Colegio de México
In RCEP vs TPP alphabet trade bloc soup, India refuses to choose
“Mega FTAs in East Asia for Regional Economic Integration: RCEP
China and the TPP - Inter-American Dialogue
TPP vs RCEP: Korea, China Likely to Join US-led Trans-pacific Trade
關於TPP和RCEP 你應該知道的13件事-財經時事-2015-10-06-即時
Arun Mohan Sukumar column: The new Great Game in Asia:The Hindu
Great Power Politics in a Global Economy: Origins - The Berkeley
China will be the winner if US backs out of the TPP - The Conversation
Critically examine how will India's participation in the Trans-Pacific
PacNet #40 - Explaining "Competing" Visions: ASEAN-RCEP, TPP
Geopolitics of RCEP and TPP: Implications for India | Vivekananda
RCEP vs TPP | The Brunei Times
RCEP, TPP and China's FTA Strategies - Knowledge Partnership
US v China in FTAs: TPP, Meet the PRC's 'RCEP' | International
TPP vs RCEP by Jihwan Seok on Prezi
TPP vs RCEP : ความตกลงฉบับไหนดีสำหรับไทยและอาเซียน?
America's big bet | The Economist
Do free-trade agreements like TPP or RCEP normally include visa
TPP versus RCEP: Control of Membership and Agenda Setting by
RCEP and TPP for the Philippines | SEANET 2
Trans-Pacific Partnership - Vision IAS
Global Courtship of ASEAN - - Emerging Markets Insights
Civil society groups reject RCEP: Excessive corporate powers
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership - Price Sanond
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): An Asian
Will the RCEP Kill the TPP and Why You Never Heard of Either One
CABA: SEA businesses hope TPP, RCEP can co-exist - CNBC
RCEP trade talks in Korea gaining global attention as the emerging
TPP or FTAAP: What It Means for US and the Asia-Pacific Region
ISEAS Perspective edited by Kee Beng Ooi
TPP, RCEP and Global Trade Governance - Stiftung Wissenschaft
PM Disappointed TPP Unlikely to be Passed | REACH
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified
Chitchat Pinky Loong Expressed Disappointment TPP is Dead
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified - Canada Nz
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
4 myths about Trans-Pacific Partnership busted | S'pore Business
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified
TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald Trump: PM Lee
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be
PM Lee disappointed by TPP failure, will seek more clarity at Apec
Singapore 'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified after Trump
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
PM Lee disappointed by TPP fallout following President-elect Trump's
'disappointed' TPP may not be ratified after Trump win: PM Lee
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under ... - SG Talk
Singapore disappointed TPP may not be ratified after Trump win: PM
Trans-Pacific Partnership: vast trade deal made public
TPP trade deal: Who are the winners and losers?
China cautiously welcomes Trans-Pacific free trade deal
Yueh: TPP - the high-stakes deal
TPP and TIPP trade deals are most likely 'dead' under Donald Trump
President-elect Trump's trade stance could nix TPP, boost China
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
2016 presidential candidates on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade
China pushes Asia-Pacific trade deals as Donald Trump win dashes
Singapore disappointed TPP is unlikely to be passed under Donald
President-elect Donald Trump's trade stance could nix TPP
Trump Win Is The Only Way To Stop TPP Catastrophe | Donald
Donald Trump: My Trans-Pacific Partnership opposition made Hillary
Donald Trump vows to cancel Trans-Pacific Partnership as president
Trump Likens Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal to Rape
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are both wrong about the Trans
Why is Donald Trump Rich? - We've Broken Down Trump's Portfolio
Hillary Clinton once called TPP the 'gold standard.' Here's why
Hillary Clinton's stand on NAFTA and the TPP: It's complicated
Did Hillary Clinton Call the Trans-Pacific Partnership the 'Gold
Hillary Clinton vows to kill Trans-Pacific Partnership she helped
Hillary Clinton says she'll kill TPP - Washington Times
Hillary Clinton: I Oppose TPP Now, I'll Oppose It as President
Donald Trump: My Trans-Pacific Partnership opposition made Hillary
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) - Ministry of Trade and Industry
Expose the TPP
China's gain? The collapse of the TPP could be bad for everyone
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Labor joins Coalition in backing larger trade deal to replace TPP
TPP: What is it and why does it matter? - BBC News - BBC.com
The Trans-Pacific Partnership — USTR.gov
TPP Full Text | United States Trade Representative
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement | Electronic Frontier
Australia signals support for Chinese-led trade deals to replace TPP
Consequences of TPP demise go beyond trade, Singapore
This Was the Trans-Pacific Partnership - The New York Times
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Trans-Pacific Partnership - Public Citizen
Trans-Pacific Partnership - International Trade Administration
U.S. Coalition for TPP
The End of the TPP - The Atlantic
Vietnam shelves TPP ratification
Vietnam PM backs off from US-led TPP deal
Vietnam the latest to give up on TPP
Vietnam Gives Up On TPP, China Now Stronger Than Ever
PM: Integration to continue regardless of TPP
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Vietnam: Prime Minister Shelves TPP Ratification
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
Good News For China? No TPP For The U.S., And Now Vietnam
Vietnam the latest to give up on TPP
Vietnam shelves TPP ratification
Vietnam Gives Up On TPP, China Now Stronger Than Ever
Prime Minister takes floor at NA hearing
PM: Integration to continue regardless of TPP
Vietnam: Prime Minister Shelves TPP Ratification
Another blow to Obama's TPP after Vietnam says it won't ratify pact
Vietnam walks away from American-backed trade deal TPP
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Singapore Stumbles on China's Road
Despite strong historical and cultural ties to China, the tiny state of Singapore has found itself in Beijing’s crosshairs, in part for its stance over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. As other Southeast Asian leaders lined up to meet President Xi Jinping at a summit in Beijing this week for his Belt-and-Road Initiative, Singapore was represented by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
China views Singapore as being less supportive of Xi’s plan because unlike other countries that announced their leaders would attend without requiring a formal invitation, Singapore sought an invite, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information.
“The cooler political relationship between Singapore and China could have ripple effects which influence economic and trade relations,” said Lu Jianren, a researcher at the China-Asean Research Institute at China’s Guangxi University. “Singapore has been less proactive to work with China while many leaders in the region showed greater enthusiasm that they want Beijing to be more involved in Southeast Asian growth.”China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. “I wouldn’t say we have major problems; we’ve had some issues and some incidents,” Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said of China, in an interview aired by the BBC in March.
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