After talks aimed at wrapping up a giant Pacific trade deal almost collapsed in acrimony in Vietnam last week, ministers are now warning that a rival Asian pact should also focus on quality over speed.
That doesn’t mean the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership won’t get done. But the fraught negotiations in Danang over the Trans-Pacific Partnership showed that nations aren’t going to rush trade deals just to defend globalization against the rising protectionist mood since Donald Trump entered the White House.
