To Win Over Asia, Talk Trade
U.S. allies in the region want economic cooperation, not just security.
Asian allies want to engage with the U.S. economically, not just militarily.
Photographer: Toru Hanai/BloombergPresident Joe Biden is showing he understands that Asia matters. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Japan and South Korea this week — their first trips abroad as members of the new administration. But in managing its relationships with the region, the Biden team is in danger of forgetting something that matters a lot to its partners, and should matter no less to the U.S. And that’s trade.
Suspicion of agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — an 11-nation pact that in its earlier form included the U.S. — runs deep among Democrats, and especially with their union base. Biden has repeatedly vowed not to sign any new trade deals before first investing more in American workers.