The US economic partners are competing to maintain a trade scope in Era Donald Trump by concluding new bilateral contracts and diverting supply chains to cope with increased American protectionism.
Policy creators and trade experts say that countries are turning tactics applied during the first term of the US president, when they signed several trade agreements, while the world’s largest consumer economy was setting up obstacles.
From Trump’s elections in November, the EU has concluded a long -awaited trade agreement with the South American Mercosur Bloc, updated the free trade agreement with Mexico and reopened negotiations with Malaysia, which have been exhaling for more than a decade.
Trump In the meantime, in his first days, he threatened duties up to 100 percent on China, 25 percent on Canada and Mexicoand said to think about the general tax on all imports from the US. He also ordered US government agencies to question trade issues, including currency manipulation and forged goods.
Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysian Minister of Trade, told the Financial Times that Trump’s return could “really encourage countries to further diversification of his trade portfolio”.
Aziz cited an example of a comprehensive and progressive agreement for a transpacific partnership, which was signed with 11 members of 2018 after Trump withdrew from the US from the negotiations. The deal “showed the resistance of countries ready to cooperate even in the absence of traditional economic leaders like the US,” he said.
EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told the Davos Economic Forum in Davos that his diary is full of meetings with ministers from bay countries and other countries. “There is a huge interest” to conclude jobs with the EU, he said.
The whole team of commissioners will visit India to achieve progress in trade negotiations and technological partnerships in the next few months.
“The countries that actively assemble jobs do so regardless of the situation in the US,” said a European official, adding that there is a “big gap” between rhetoric about what Washington would like to do and what is really going on in the field.
In Trump’s first term, the EU has signed agreements with Japan-a solid United States, who has been afraid of economic damage from his politics-Singapore and Vietnam and began conversations with new Zealand and Chile, which eventually completed his agreements. One EU official joked that “the EU Best Commissioner for Trade ever”.
“There were a lot of agreement,” said Cecilia Malmström, an EU commissioner for a trade when Trump was last in power, which was crucial in earlier negotiations in Mercosuru. “We thought this was a cruel world. We do not believe in trade wars. We have an unpredictable president who scattering customs everywhere. Let’s see what we can do together. ”
Malmström, who is now working at the Covington & Burling law office, expects that during Trump’s four -year term, he will be concluded with a contract with Mexico and negotiations with Australia, Indonesia, and perhaps Filipini and Thailand.
Bernd Lange, chaired by the Trade Committee of the European Parliament, said the EU response would pair Trump’s return customs duties with deeper trade relations elsewhere. “In addition to defense, we should further strengthen our partnership with third countries such as the UK, Mexico, Japan or Canada, which could also be in the crossfire.
“This means ratification of trade agreements such as EU-Mercosur and concluding negotiations with partners such as Australia and Indonesia.”
In 2020, Asean Plus cinemas, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand formed a regional comprehensive economic partnership. RCEP has mainly reduced Necarin obstacles to trade such as veterinary controls and customs procedures. RCEP covers 2.3 billion people and 30 percent of global GDP, compared to 25 percent in the US.
The African continental area of the free trade, which will eventually abolish 90 percent of the customs duties, began operating in 2021.
Trade of goods and services continued to grow in recent years despite the Pandemia of Covid-19 and growing protectionism.
Scott Lincicome of Cato Institute, Think-tank headquartered in Washington, said: “No matter what Donald Trump did in the next few years, it seems that everyone else is not willing to accept expensive economic isolationism and will only continue without further our. There are about 370 trade agreements in force since the middle of 2024. Without signs of near annulment. ”
China, meanwhile, recently concluded contracts with Serbia, Cambodia, Nicaragua and Ecuador. Beijing, which Trump sees as the greatest rival of the US, is about 30 percent of global production.
One senior trade official, who refused to be named, said that “this time they were more skeptical” according to the invasion of the job concluding, because the agreements that remained to complete were harder to negotiate.
“Trump’s return could promote new bilaterals, perhaps in Africa. But Asia is quite sewn. I button up. ”
Additional Aime Williams report from Washington
Visualization of Data Janina Conboye in London
