MOST QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED AS 2019 STUTTERS TO A CLOSE

The final trimester of the year is usually a time for Asian multilateralism to take center stage; this year, not so much. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting, which was supposed to take place in Chile, was cancelled (due to civil disturbances in the host country) while the E...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative connections 2020-01, Vol.21 (3), p.1-155
Main Authors: Cossa, Ralph A, Glosserman, Brad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Appointments & personnel changes
Civil disorders
Climate change
Cooperation
Free trade
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Impeachment
International trade
Legislatures
Manufacturing
Multilateralism
North American Free Trade Agreement
Presidents
Provisions
Tariffs
Trade agreements
Trump, Donald J
Vice Presidents
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Summary:The final trimester of the year is usually a time for Asian multilateralism to take center stage; this year, not so much. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting, which was supposed to take place in Chile, was cancelled (due to civil disturbances in the host country) while the East Asia Summit (EAS) proceeded without either US President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence (his normal stand-in) in attendance. Regional economic developments (and US trade actions impacting the broader Indo-Asia-Pacific region) grabbed the headlines instead. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) participants gathered along the EAS sidelines to finalize their trade agreement, sans India, which balked at the last minute. Meanwhile, the White House and US House of Representatives, while locked in a battle over impeachment, nonetheless reached common ground on the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) while the administration announced a "phase one" trade deal with Beijing. There appears to be less than meets the eye in both agreements, but each impacts the region writ large. Finally, not to be overshadowed, the State Department issued its own explanation of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy, complementing the Pentagon's version, which was analyzed in our last issue.
ISSN:1930-5370
1930-5389