Reference News Network reported on May 5 According to the Wall Street Journal website reported on May 29, the United States is leading a new initiative aimed at strengthening economic relations with "friendly countries" in the Pacific, but trade officials in some countries have questioned the Biden administration's increasing emphasis on protecting domestic jobs and boosting U.S. manufacturing, believing that these policies harm the interests of smaller or less wealthy countries that rely on trade to develop their economies.

As U.S. policymakers become increasingly concerned about the impact of free trade on U.S. jobs, the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will not include tariff reductions and other enforceable market-opening measures that are hallmarks of traditional free trade agreements.

At last week's Detroit conference, U.S. Trade Representative Dai Qi reportedly stressed that "our trade policy has long focused on liberalization, efficiency and cost reduction."

But her remarks drew questions from some officials in other countries.

New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O'Connor said: "We see trade as a solution, not a problem. Because in our country, the salary of people engaged in trade-related industries is much higher than that of people who are not engaged in trade. ”

Malaysia's deputy trade minister Liu Chun Tong said he understood the view that "American workers must benefit from trade." But he suggested, "But this cannot come at the expense of our workers."

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization, also said developing countries were concerned that the U.S. move was aimed at preventing their goods from entering the U.S. market. They see U.S. demands on workers' wages as a strategy to block cheap goods from developing countries.

The report also said that the US government's position on the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" has also frustrated many in the US business community.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 20 other business groups wrote to Dai Qi and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on the 26th, saying that they are "increasingly concerned that the content and direction of the administration's proposal for this meeting may not only fail to achieve meaningful strategic and commercial results, but also endanger U.S. trade and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond."

According to the "Japan Economic News" reported on May 5, the US-led "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" ministerial meeting closed on the 29th. Public opinion believes that the next negotiations may reach an impasse. Because the United States attaches more importance to what it calls "labor rights and environmental rights" standards than other members are concerned about trade liberalization. This runs counter to the demands of Southeast Asian countries to pursue practical interests.

At this meeting, the two sides made some progress on strengthening the supply chain. But in other areas, the positions of the United States and Southeast Asian countries are very different.

The report said that the new trade policy of the United States reflects its domestic situation from the side. In the case of Detroit, the U.S., where manufacturing declined due to the influx of overseas products, and worker discontent was what drove the Trump administration to power in 2017. President Biden is anxious about the movement of workers' votes on the issue of the 2024 presidential election.

The report quoted Scott Miller, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the United States, as saying that "emerging market countries and developing countries can get an airport when they talk to China." And dialogue with the United States can only be preaching."

The Japanese government tried to mediate between the United States and Southeast Asia. This is because if negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework stall, China's influence will further increase. (Reference News Network Compilation/Zhang Lin Liu Jieqiu)