Chile: Frankenstein's Monster

CHILE

Frankenstein’s Monster

The trade deal originally designed to combat China’s growing dominance has morphed into a bulwark against US President Donald Trump’s drift toward protectionism.

On Thursday, 11 nations including major US allies Japan, Canada and Australia signed a rejigged version of the erstwhile Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in Santiago, Chile, in a bid to continue the global push for free trade, the New York Times reported.

The deal was originally designed to counter Beijing. But now China has been invited to join the pact – which drastically slashes tariffs as President Trump establishes stiff duties on steel and aluminum. Notably, the American president pulled the US out of the deal soon after he assumed office.

China has shown signs that it might join now the US is out, and there have also been indications that the US might come back if “we did a substantially better deal,” as Trump phrases it. But the bloc’s impact could increase from a projected $147 billion boost to global income per year to a whopping $449 billion without either one – if Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand sign up.

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