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SCMP Editorial

The World Trade Organisation-based global order that the United States helped put in place is threatened by the unilateral policies of American President Donald Trump’s administration.
Governments not used to the burden of leadership are searching for ways to fill the void, and two agreements – one in Asia, the other in Europe – offer hope.
The more significant of the two, Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), moved closer at a recent meeting in Beijing towards the goal of creating the world’s largest free-trade area by the end of the year.
Every effort should be made to meet the target; it would support multilateralism while being a bulwark against Washington’s protectionism.

Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua said at the meeting that negotiations had reached a key stage.
He said 80 per cent of the Association of South East Asian Nations-inspired agreement, involving Asean’s 10 members, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, was complete, but significant obstacles still had to be resolved.
India is known to be reluctant to open its markets, even though doing so would be in its interests and mutually beneficial for other nations; its commerce minister did not attend, citing parliamentary commitments.
An escalating trade dispute between Japan and South Korea could also prove problematic.
Another pact being worked on between the European Union and Canada likewise offers a way around the US blocks. An aspect is an alternative to the WTO dispute settlement system, which the Trump administration has brought to a standstill through refusing to appoint judges.

At their meeting last month in Nice, Brussels and Ottawa effectively issued an open invitation to other governments to participate.
Ways have to be found around the governance crisis that the US has created, just as free-trade pacts are a means to counter the damage done by its tariffs and bans on goods and equipment.
The WTO’s rules and global trading system need to be revamped, a reality recognised at the last summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in Osaka, Japan.
But words need action and the G20 is being held hostage by the US, a key member.
China pushes regional trade pact amid US trade war, Japan-Korea spat
That is obvious by the way Trump’s negotiators have been dealing with China, claiming to have made positive progress in the latest round of trade war negotiations, but the president just days later saying that a 10 per cent tariff would be imposed on US$300 billion of Chinese products on September 1.
With no resolution in sight, partnerships like the RCEP are important. RCEP nations have 47.4 per cent of the world’s population, cover 32.2 per cent of global GDP, 29 per cent of trade and 32.5 per cent of investment.
Through striking a free-trade deal, they would be sending a powerful message to Trump while protecting multilateralism.


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Trade

While the US rants, the rest of the world is working on free-trade deals

RCEP nations have 29 per cent of global trade and 32.5 per cent of investment. Through striking a free-trade deal, they would be sending a powerful message to Trump while protecting multilateralism. Photo: Chinatopix via AP

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (L) gestures towards US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (C) as he chats with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (R) before they pose for a "family photo" at the Xijiao Conference Centre in Shanghai on July 31, 2019. - Chinese and US negotiators held talks in Shanghai on July 31 in a bid to bring an end to a year-long trade war, with the meeting overshadowed by a Twitter tirade from President Donald Trump. (Photo by Ng Han Guan / POOL / AFP)

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua speaks at the opening ceremony for a ministerial meeting of 16 Asia-Pacific countries in Beijing on Aug. 3, 2019, aimed at concluding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

China claims progress on creating world’s largest trade bloc, but ‘very difficult’ issues remain

Trade ministers from 16 countries wrapped up two days of talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement in Beijing on Saturday. Photo: Kyodo

China claims progress towards world’s biggest trade deal, but India remains biggest roadblock to RCEP

India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, will not attend the ministerial level talks this week in Beijing. Photo: AP

Piyush Goyal, India's interim finance minister, center left, poses with other members of the finance ministry at Parliament House before tabling the budget in parliament in New Delhi, India, on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019. India's government will breach its budget deficit target for a second year as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to woo voters before an election with more spending. Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (5th L) poses for a family photo with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries during the ASEAN-China Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok on July 31, 2019. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has overtaken the US to become China’s second-largest trading partner in the first half of 2019. Photo: AP

China pushes RCEP regional pact amid US trade war, Japan-Korea spat

Shipping containers at South Korea’s Busan Port Terminal. A trade dispute between South Korea and Japan could affect talks between 16 countries in Beijing in the latest round of negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Photo: Bloomberg

South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (L) and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono (R) sit across from each other during their meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Bangkok on August 1, 2019. - South Korea warned Japan on August 1 that it would be forced to review security cooperation between the two key US allies if Tokyo pushes ahead with plans to remove Seoul from its "white list" of trusted trade partners. (Photo by YONHAP / YONHAP / AFP) / - South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT NO ARCHIVES RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIPTION USE

Donald Trump’s latest China tariffs threat could breach WTO rules, says Australian trade minister

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the Australian government wants to see further action from China on flashpoints such as intellectual property reform. Photo: EPA-EFE

Opinion


As the Trump administration moves towards protectionism, nations elsewhere are seeking solutions to shore up multilateralism



As the Trump administration moves towards protectionism, nations elsewhere are seeking solutions to shore up multilateralism.


US-China trade war

US-China trade war: Opinion

China economy

Asean

US-China trade war: All stories

Donald Trump

European Union

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Editorial

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} As the Trump administration moves towards protectionism, nations elsewhere are seeking solutions to shore up multilateralism

As the Trump administration moves towards protectionism, nations elsewhere are seeking solutions to shore up multilateralism