Southeast Asian leaders throw weight behind China-led trade pact

From Agence France-Presse


Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Bangkok on Saturday determined to drive forward the world's largest commercial pact, with the trade war between the US and China clouding the outlook for their export-led economies.

Disputes in the flashpoint South China Sea, Myanmar's persecution of Rohingya Muslims and plastic pollution in the seas are also set to be discussed at the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, chaired by Thailand.

But trade will take centre stage with ASEAN leaders keen to hasten the signing of a China-drafted commercial deal covering around half the world's population.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all 10 ASEAN economies, plus India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

COMMENT:-

TU Curmudgeon said:

From Agence France-Presse

Southeast Asian leaders throw weight behind China-led trade pact
​

Southeast Asian leaders gathered in Bangkok on Saturday determined to drive forward the world's largest commercial pact, with the trade war between the US and China clouding the outlook for their export-led economies.

Disputes in the flashpoint South China Sea, Myanmar's persecution of Rohingya Muslims and plastic pollution in the seas are also set to be discussed at the two-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, chaired by Thailand.

But trade will take centre stage with ASEAN leaders keen to hasten the signing of a China-drafted commercial deal covering around half the world's population.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all 10 ASEAN economies, plus India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

COMMENT:-

Well the obvious US position to this anti-American plot is to impose crushing tariffs on Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malasia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Well, isn't it? I mean what do those backwards, s***hole, third-world, countries have that American doesn't have more of (and better)?

Right?
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Click to expand...

So, if the deal isn't beneficial to us, we should enter it anyway because?......

j-mac said:

So, if the deal isn't beneficial to us, we should enter it anyway because?......

Click to expand...

It isn't that the deal isn't "beneficial" to the US, it's more that the deal doesn't absolutely guarantee that the US will make a profit on all aspects of the deal and with all other parties to the deal 100% of the time.

Abandoning such a large market because you can't make a big enough profit means that you end up making no profit at all.

Those nations are going to continue selling to the US, but if the US is not selling to them then the trade deficit has a nasty tendency to get larger - not smaller. Reducing sales generally leads to reducing production. Reducing production generally leads to reducing employment. Reducing employment generally leads to an economic slowdown.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership indicates that the parties to it are taking steps to be ready to replace purchases from the US (and sales to the US as well) with purchases and sales between "more reliable" trading partners. Imposing "crushing tariffs" on all 10 ASEAN economies, plus India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand is only going to accelerate that process - to the detriment of the US economy.

j-mac said:

So, if the deal isn't beneficial to us, we should enter it anyway because?......

Click to expand...

WTF are you talking about?

We can't enter the deal. It's a regional trade agreement and we're not in the region

sangha said:

WTF are you talking about?

We can't enter the deal. It's a regional trade agreement and we're not in the region

Click to expand...

HOGWASH, the entire world is in the American Zone.

Just ask Mr. Trump.