WSCRC’s Executive Director, Norwell Coquillard, was quoted in the Seattle Times on May 27th in an editorial titled “U.S. influence in Asia, benefits at home, depend on Pacific trade pact.” In the article the editors of the Seattle Times applaud President Biden’s recent announcement of a new economic bloc meant to counter China’s growing economic presence around the world. However, the writers note that the agreement of newly heralded association of nations is short on details. The Seattle Times posits that the administration should strive to return to the previously negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as the way forward for U.S. trade in the Pacific. Although the authors credit President Trump with taking a more aggressive stance vis a vis China, they argue that his unilateral tariffs have not improved the U.S.’s trading position in the Pacific.
The Seattle Times quotes WSCRC’s Executive Director as noting that “China’s tariffs have gone down for people like the E.U., Australia and Japan. They have down over the past four or five years, while the U.S. ones have gone up into the 20% range,” Mr. Coquillard went on to say when it comes to the tariffs the U.S. is “shooting itself in the foot.”
The article concludes with a plea for the administration to return to the TPP framework and build the political will at home to enact trade agreements to strengthen the U.S.’s economic influence and fair competition in the Pacific region.