US falters in Asia-Pacific trade talks amid China’s rise

November 17, 2023 (MLN): The United States stumbled again in trade negotiations with Asia-Pacific partners this week, a setback analysts say could weigh on America's standing as a partner in the face of China's growing influence, as APP reported.

While Washington had for decades used free-trade pacts to forge relationships around the world, a more isolationist mood has gripped domestic politics.

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) failed to materialize at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, held back by US fears over the impact on workers at home.

Pushback from President Joe Biden's own party underscores the challenges, with congressional Democrats concerned it could impact their prospects in next year's elections.

A failure to deliver IPEF could look like a replay of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which former president Donald Trump denounced as bad for US jobs.

One of his first actions in office was to yank the US out of the TPP, a huge multi-national deal yoking major Asian allies that had been years in the making, and which had been a key plank of foreign policy.

That withdrawal smarted in Asian capitals.

The White House insists IPEF is not dead, but needs more work to get it over the line.

"November was never about a trade deal," US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told reporters Thursday.

"November was always about providing more details and transparency into the progress that we were accomplishing," she added.

Further details have yet to be released, but Tai stressed "we will continue to work on this."

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