The U.S. Can’t Keep Dodging the Trade Issue in Asia
Vague talk about an “economic framework” won’t satisfy allies who want to see deeper U.S. engagement in the region and greater access to U.S. markets.
Trade is the lifeblood of the region.
Photographer: Jonathan Drake/BloombergAntony Blinken’s first official trip to Southeast Asia ended on a deflating note — cut short after a member of his traveling entourage tested positive for Covid-19. What’s most disappointing isn’t how the U.S. secretary of state left the region, though. It’s what he didn’t say while there.
Blinken spent a great deal of time talking about U.S. priorities, from China’s activities in the South China Sea to the coup in Myanmar. But he generally avoided the topic most local leaders would prefer to discuss: trade. The “Indo-Pacific economic framework” he touted in a speech in Jakarta on Tuesday remains maddeningly vague on details. What little has come out since President Joe Biden first raised the idea in October suggests the U.S. is hoping to enlist allies to secure supply chains, strengthen export controls, and write technical standards and rules to counter China. Asian nations understandably fear the whole endeavor is meant to distract from the administration’s unwillingness or inability to offer greater access to the U.S. market.