726: 15 Asian nations join RCEP, success for China but not much for the others. @AlanTonelson, @USBIC1, @GordonGChang
Image: Coolies discharging goods at the harbor, Chefoo, north China, nearest trading port to Port Arthur Alan Tonelson, independent economic policy analyst who blogs at RealityChek and tweets at @AlanTonelson, andGordon Chang: @GordonGChang, Daily Beast, in re: RCEP. Pres Trump early on withdrew from TPP (it was front-loaded against the US). All the counties in the RCEP but Australia rely on exporting much more than they import to maintain growth. So who’ll import? Nothing here for the US—nor even for most of the countries that’ve signed the deal. Chinese consumption is tailing off – and: China doesn't honor trade deals. Japan signed on a week ago; China hoped India would, but it didn't. Uncertain if Biden’s version of “Buy American” would help the US much, since his definition of American includes all its allies. “Securing supply chains” means only that we can access product from countries we consider to be friendly; of course, a bunch of the signatories of the RCEP were US allies . . . Biden’s spokesmen have said, “China tariffs will be reviewed,” meaning that Biden dasn’t lift the tariffs in the foreseeable future.