Biden administration weighs digital trade deal to counter China in Asia

Indo-Pacific plan includes Canada and Chile

White House officials are discussing proposals for a digital trade agreement covering Indo-Pacific economies as the administration seeks ways to check China’s influence in the region, according to people familiar with the plans.
 
Details of the potential agreement are still being drafted, but the pact could potentially include countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t public.
 
The deal could set out standards for the digital economy, including rules on the use of data, trade facilitation and electronic customs arrangements, according to another person.

 

It also would show the Biden administration is interested in pursuing new trade opportunities after spending its first months focused more on enforcing existing deals than advancing negotiations with the UK and Kenya that were inherited from the Trump administration.
 
Perhaps most important, the policy would represent an early effort by the Biden administration to present an economic plan for the world’s most economically and strategically significant region after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in 2017.
 
A White House official said Monday night no decisions had been reached, but that the administration was intent on deepening its relationship with the Indo-Pacific region in many areas, including digital trade. The Office of the US Trade Representative declined to comment. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian told a news briefing Tuesday in Beijing that he wasn’t aware of the potential proposal, but said: “China follows the principles of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and remains committed to working with neighbouring countries to promote regional development.”