I think that Mohammed El-Erian’s op-ed at Bloomberg could stand some corrections. For example:
In addition, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade agreement the U.S. and 11 Asian nations signed in February, seems increasingly unlikely to be ratified, given the
limited appetite for any such deals in the U.S. Congressweak merits of the agreement.
We already have “free trade” agreements with most of the countries with which the agreement has been negotiated and all of the major economies other than Japan. No trade agreement with Japan that doesn’t eliminate Japan’s barriers to agricultural imports (which the TPP doesn’t) is worth the paper it’s printed on. Or the bits it’s composed of, as appropriate.
And the title. “The Lure of Protectionism Will Grow” should be “The West Doesn’t Retaliate Against Chinese and Indian Mercantilism”. Or maybe just “West Supine”.
Protectionism keeps descending on the U. S. and falling on China. How does that happen?
The short term gains out weigh long term gains, pay off for donations, the need to have something to show to justify expense accounts, a plot to create a corporate world order? Shrug. What matters is how our Lords and Masters do these treaties in the future.