Australia SNUBS Obama as it dumps TTP and looks to Asia for trade deals
AUSTRALIA is backing China’s bid for fresh trade deals in the Asia-Pacific region after accepting the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement died with Donald Trump’s election victory.
By SIMON OSBORNE
Express.co.uk
Thu, Nov 17, 2016
It comes after current President Barack Obama excluded China from negotiations over climate fears.
Now Canberra trade minister Steven Ciobo said he would be working to conclude new agreements among 16 Asian and Pacific countries that do not include the US.
He said Australia would also support a separate proposal, the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which China hopes to push at this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Peru.
Mr Ciobo said: “Any move that reduces barriers to trade and helps us facilitate trade, facilitate exports and drive economic growth and employment is a step in the right direction.”
Mr Trump’s opposition to the TPP, which the US and 11 other countries signed earlier this year, lay at the centre of his campaign and his election has all but killed the prospects of its ratification by Congress.
Its collapse gives Beijing – which was excluded from the deal – the chance to argue for faster adoption of the broader FTAAP which would strengthen China’s influence in the region.
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