Pence Pushes Allies on Trade After Reassuring on North Korea

by Dramelin 7:00 AM 0 comments

Vice President Mike Pence pressed South Korea and Japan for better trade terms on Tuesday even as he affirmed U.
support for its Asian allies in dealing with North Korea.
On the third day of a swing through Asia, Pence told a business group in Seoul that the U.
’s trade relationship with South Korea is “falling short” and a trade agreement between the nations is under review.
Later in Tokyo, he stressed the need for quick results as he helmed a new economic dialogue arranged by President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“When President Trump agreed to this dialogue, he envisioned this as a mechanism for enhancing bilateral commercial relations between the U.
and Japan and achieving results in the near future,” Pence said before meeting his counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso.
“And I share that vision and that impatience.
” Pence’s focus on bread-and-butter issues showed that the administration still aims to tackle trade deficits it blames for the loss of American manufacturing jobs even as it pushes for action on geopolitical threats.
Pence on Monday said he was “heartened” by China’s moves on North Korea, with Trump saying in an interview aired Tuesday that he declined to start a trade war with China because President Xi Jinping is taking steps to rein in his neighbor’s nuclear program.
Bilateral Deals Trump has accused both Japan and South Korea of imposing barriers on U.
automobile exports and keeping their currencies weak, hurting jobs for Americans and fueling trade imbalances.
Pence repeated that the U.
would no longer focus on the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- an agreement Abe strongly backed -- and instead will explore bilateral deals based on fairness.
seeks stronger and more balanced bilateral trade agreements with every country, including Japan,” he said.
Read more for a QuickTake on Trump tearing up trade deals Pence and Aso agreed on a dialogue framework centering on three pillars: trade and investment, economic cooperation, and improved relations in certain commercial sectors to create jobs.
They will meet again this year to ensure the project achieves “concrete economic results in the near term,” Pence said.
Aso said the dialogue turned a “new page” in economic relations between the countries, adding that he had a good discussion with Pence based on a “win-win” outlook.
China Trade Trump, who opted against labeling China a currency manipulator last week, said his recent conversations with Xi convinced him to abandon his hard-line approach on trade, at least for now.
“He understands it’s a big problem.
He’s working on it,” Trump said of Xi during an interview that aired on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” program Tuesday.
“Now what am I going to do, start a trade war with China, in the middle of him working on a bigger problem, frankly, with North Korea?” In the past, Trump has repeatedly placed blame on China -- which provides crucial economic support to Kim Jong Un’s regime -- saying that Xi can curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions but has refused.
During his presidential campaign, Trump also blamed China for unfair trade practices, pledging to label the country a currency manipulator on his first day in office.
TPP Fate U.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who was in Japan on Tuesday for separate talks with Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko, also indicated a desire to push for a trade deal with the nation.
“It’s a little bit early to say just what form things will take, but we are certainly eager to increase our trade relations with Japan, and to do so in the form of an agreement,” Ross said.
Japan, meanwhile, is persisting with the TPP.
Economy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said after a meeting with Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo in Tokyo that the two nations should lead the debate at a meeting of the 11 remaining TPP nations in Hanoi next month.
“What we are trying for in the Japan-U.
dialogue is very similar to TPP,” Ishihara told reporters.
“It’s something that can be extended across Asia.
So rather than 11 parties, it’s important to discuss something that America can return to in the future.
” In Seoul, Pence said he was concerned that the U.
trade deficit with South Korea has “more than doubled” in the five years since their free-trade agreement took effect.
He called the trade gap with South Korea a “hard truth,” with “too many” barriers to entry for U.
Pence’s comments come just days after South Korea and Japan avoided being tagged a currency manipulator by the U.
They remain on a watch list of nations deemed at risk of engaging in unfair conduct.
In nearly every stop, Pence underscored the U.
’s commitment to support its allies in the region as tensions grow over North Korea’s nuclear program.
He will head to Indonesia and Australia after Japan.
“We appreciate the challenging times in which the people of Japan live with increasing provocations coming across the Sea of Japan,” Pence said at a meeting with Abe.
He said the U.
remains “deeply committed” to Japanese security and the alliance between the countries is a “cornerstone” of peace in the area.