Free Trade With or Without the U.S.
As America lurches toward protectionism, Europe and Asia are shrewdly lowering trade barriers.
Now this is deal-making.
Photographer: Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images
President Donald Trump is intent on punishing other nations for “ripping off” the U.S. in trade. Their governments aren’t exactly falling into line. They’re getting on with promoting trade and leaving the U.S. behind.
This week, countries in Asia and Europe showed that they can work to expand trade all by themselves. In Tokyo, leaders from Japan and the European Union signed an agreement to create one of the world’s largest free-trade zones, covering 30 percent of global output and nearly 40 percent of global trade. In Bangkok, negotiators from 16 countries including China, Japan, Australia and India resumed talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), aiming to have most details ironed out by this fall.