New Trends in American Trade Strategy in the Asia-Pacific: A Perspective Based on the US-ROK Free Trade Agreement
Author: Liu Zhongwei and Shen JiawenSilver Editor Source: Contemporary Asia Pacific StudiesTime :2014-04-08 15:16:00
Abstract:The US-ROK Free Trade Agreement officially took effect on March 15, 2012, forcefully advancing the important role played by America in economic affairs in the Asia-Pacific region, and further symbolizing America’s strategic “pivot” towards Asia. After the agreement took effect, the U.S. realized the intended mutual economic benefits from the framework, and as to the extent that the agreement stalled progress towards East Asian regional integration, the US also realized strategic objective of balancing against China. This article describes the economic and geo-political benefits the United States receives from the US-ROK Free Trade Agreement and the impacts of its “new trade policy”.It also analyzes the Agreement against the background of America’s strategic pivot towards the Asia-Pacific region, and its relationship to America’s APEC policy, the development of TPP and American domestic political struggles in order to describe America’s new Asia Pacific trade strategy. Based on this analysis, it argues that as China faces barriers to its exports and checks on its influence that it needs to determine policies to accelerate the pace of recalibration of its domestic economic development-model, to promote balanced multilateral regional cooperation and proactively respond to the American led development of TPP.
