U.S. Trade Representative Michael Forman said Friday that the success of two upcoming rounds of trade talks with Pacific Rim countries hinged on China and Japan making more concessions. The U.S., he indicated, had already gone far enough and the other countries needed to do the rest.
Forman appeared to be laying the case for any potential failures or shortcomings in the talks to be laid at the foot of those countries. Americans, he argued, have already shown a willingness to make hard decisions.
“The next few months will be critical in determining the trajectory of the global economy. When G20 leaders meet in Australia next month, boosting global trade will be among the major drivers of the concerted growth strategy there now is a consensus to support,” Forman said in an op-ed Friday for the Financial Times.
He said a key barrier to the consensus is Japan not laying out a “bold vision” for its policies regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-nation trade pact. “[I]t expressed a bold vision that matched the ambitions of the U.S. and its 10 other Asia-Pacific partners. Today, the world is still waiting for that bold vision to be translated into forward-looking positions at the negotiating table.”
Forman also said China needed to eliminate more tariffs on information technology products before it heads the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation talks – a different set of talks from TPP, which China is not part of.
“Change is always challenging – as the U.S. knows from the restructuring of its auto, financial and healthcare sectors,” Forman said.
But others were refusing to change, he said. He scolded a “a handful of countries led by India” for undermining the Trade Facilitation Agreement, an attempt by the World Trade Organization to create a common legal framework for customs matters. He argued that the countries “reneged on the commitment they made in Bali just last December.”
