Japan makes a brave move toward freer trade

choi

(1) Elaine Kurtenbach, China-US Rivalry Apparent as Work on Pacific Free Trade Bloc Gains Momentum. Associated Press, Nov 12, 2011.
http://www.newser.com/article/d9 ... gains-momentum.html

Quote:

China "has appeared unenthusiastic, describing the plan as 'verly ambitious.'Its reluctance to endorse the proposal likely reflects wariness of being drawn into what has become a US-led initiative that encroaches on its own sphere of influence in Asia. China also has commitments to other free trade arrangements in East and Southeast Asia.

"US officials say at issue is not an invitation [to China] but whether China aspires to reach the high standards demanded of those joining. 'They have not expressed interest,' Mike Froman, U.S. deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, told reporters.

Note: spaghetti bowl
(a) Hitchhiker Lingo Dictionary, undated.
http://www.digihitch.com/road-culture/hitchhiker-lingo/1439
(b) Double-Tongued Dictionary, undated.
http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/spaghetti_bowl/

Do not forget to read "Citations" straight down.

(2) Editorial, Japan Makes a Brave Move Toward Freer Trade. Washington Post, Nov 11, 2011.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/op ... QAQ93NDN_story.html

Quote:

"Under the postwar U.S. security umbrella, Japan tried a different tack: mercantilism * * * That export-led strategy worked brilliantly until it collapsed in 1989. Japan has been adrift ever since.

"TPP is not some sort of anti-China trade bloc. One of its potential advantages, however, is to knit the United States together with the Asian market according to rules the United States helps to set, as opposed to rules China seems increasingly determined to impose. The hope is that the sheer competitive mass of the TPP would eventually induce China to loosen its policies, lest it lose trade.

(3) David F Gordon, A Trade Opportunity Washington Shouldn’t Pass Up; A trade superpower. Washington Post, Nov 11, 2011
(op-ed).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/op ... QA1K3t9M_story.html

Quote:

"During a recent visit to the region [Asia], a senior Asian policymaker told me, 'We used to ask what we could get from the Americans in return for their military personnel and basing rights. The new question is, what will we have to give them to get them to stay. And it’s all because of China.' Meetings with Japanese, Australian and Southeast Asian policymakers and business executives have made clear to me that China is misplaying its hand in Asia. * * * This misstep gives Washington an enormous opportunity.

"Though the United States is still a leading trade partner for many Pacific Rim countries, its share of regional trade is declining. TPP, especially if it includes Japan, would provide a strategic counterpoint to last year’s China-ASEAN pact. It presents an alternative to Chinese economic and strategic domination that nations in the region are actively seeking