[Text/Observer Network Qi Qian] The tariff offensive of the Trump administration has shaken the confidence of allies in traditional alliance relations. Recently, Sweden said it would push the EU to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to offset the impact of US tariff policies. This move has caused concern within the United States. On May 14 local time, US congressmen urgently held a hearing to seek countermeasures.

South China Morning Post reported that at the hearing, some congressmen frankly stated that the current situation was "very unfavorable" for the United States. Economic partners were cooperating without involving the United States, which was "impossible" just a few years ago.

"The United States is isolating itself, and the EU should not miss this opportunity."

On local time on the 13th, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade Benjamin Dusa told Reuters by phone from Japan: "If the EU and CPTPP as trade groups unite, the world's largest free trade area will be created."

Currently, Dusa is on a trade visit to multiple Asian countries. He revealed that Sweden will propose joining CPTPP at the EU Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Brussels on local time on the 15th.

"When the United States becomes increasingly isolated, Europe faces a good opportunity to open up to investment and trade," Dusa said. "This is crucial for Sweden. If we want Sweden to afford healthcare, schools, and social services... our exporters must have more markets."

Benjamin Dusa, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Trade, file photo

Reuters reported that Trump's tariff offensive overturned decades of trade practices and shook the confidence of America's allies in traditional alliances, while also raising concerns about a global economic recession. As one of the most determined supporters of free trade among the 27 EU countries, Sweden relies heavily on exports.

However, Dusa said he expected some member states to be less enthusiastic about the CPTPP agreement. "We are prepared to fight with countries like France." It was reported that France traditionally leans toward protectionism, especially regarding agricultural products.

Although negotiations may take some time, Dusa said negotiations could be conducted department by department and industry by industry, meaning specific agreements could be reached relatively quickly. The EU has already or is negotiating bilateral agreements with almost all CPTPP members.

The predecessor of CPTPP was the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), initiated by New Zealand, Singapore, Chile, and Brunei in 2002, aiming to promote trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region. Bloomberg previously reported that the United States initially envisioned TPP as an economic bloc to exclude China and balance its growing strength while consolidating US economic power and trade relations in the Asia-Pacific region.

After Trump led the United States out of TPP during his first term, on March 8, 2018, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam signed CPTPP in Chile.

Last December, the UK officially became the 12th member of CPTPP and the first European country to join this agreement. In September 2021, China formally applied to join CPTPP, becoming the second economy after the UK to apply for membership.

US Panics: This Would Have Been Impossible Just a Few Years Ago

On local time on the 13th, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Asia-Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing.

At this hearing to assess how to restructure the US government to align economic and foreign policy objectives, attendees said that as the United States withdrew from its established global trade rules, major economies began to cooperate without involving the United States. Lawmakers said that there was a need for structural reform of US government agencies and closer economic engagement with trading partners.

Reportedly, Kim Young Kim, chairman of the hearing and Republican congressman from California, said that the Foreign Affairs Committee aimed to formulate legislation to address concerns expressed by former Presidents Trump and others, namely that "economic security and economic policy are foreign policy."

Wendy Cutler, former US trade negotiator and deputy director of the Asia Society Policy Institute, warned at the hearing that America's economic partners were moving forward without the United States' involvement, which "would have been impossible just a few years ago." Cutler gave examples, saying last week India and the UK reached a landmark free trade agreement, and the EU intended to join CPTPP.

She also said that other countries expressed interest in joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), CPTPP, or other agreements. "Ultimately, since all these agreements are being reached without us, we are at a disadvantage."

"In the past few months, I traveled across Asia and spoke with many trade negotiation delegations in Washington," Cutler said. "My Asian colleagues and I shared their deep concerns about the direction of US trade and economic policies and the uncertainty they caused." He added that they "do not understand" the purpose of the United States, why it seeks cooperation against China while imposing tariffs on them.

It was reported that lawmakers from both parties agreed to reorganize the US Department of State to support restructuring of foreign policy mechanisms. For example, the Department of Commerce's overseas commercial services should be transferred to the Department of State to better protect US commercial interests abroad. Cutler also said that the Department of State needs other reforms, including more effectively recruiting and promoting officials with economic backgrounds.

Elaine Dezenski, senior director of the Center for Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, agreed.

"We must recognize that we may have launched an economic war without an 'economic Pentagon,'" Dezenski said bluntly. "I think we are now entering a comprehensive shift to projecting economic security power, which is now foreign policy, so it makes sense to establish leadership functions within the Department of State."

Matthew Goodman, director of the Greenberg Geoeconomic Center of the Council on Foreign Relations, said that mixed signals from the United States on trade policy prompted some countries to engage in bilateral or multilateral cooperation without Washington's participation.

"I am very worried that we currently have no Asian economic strategy to talk about," Goodman said. "This allows other countries to advance their own economic and strategic interests and promote their preferred rules without our involvement."

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504635255069786658/

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