As 2022 winds down, it is worth noting that it has now been 10 years since the United States entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) with new trading partners. Despite claims that the United States is a “hyperglobalist,” the reality is much different. In fact, as Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute for international economics noted in his excellent Foreign Affairs essay last year, the United States has been withdrawing from international economic integration for about 20 years. The consequences of a stagnant trade agenda will become more apparent and pronounced as time passes.
In 2012, U.S. FTAs with Korea, Colombia, and Panama, respectively, entered into force. Since that time, new liberalization has become non‐existent. Though several mistakes were made along the way, the Obama administration at least tried to pursue an ambitious negotiating agenda. Most notably, it negotiated the Trans‐Pacific Partnership (TPP) with a number of Pacific Rim nations, an increasingly vital part of the world both economically and strategically. Once the Trump administration entered into office, it immediately withdrew from the promising pact – an enormous unforced error. After the United States withdrew from TPP, the remaining members consummated the agreement and renamed it the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans‐Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
