"This Year’s US Trade Policy Focuses on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness and Economic Alliances"

Maintaining a China Containment Policy, Strengthening Influence in the Indo-Pacific Region, and Promoting the Establishment of Economic Alliances

[Asia Economy Reporter Sunmi Park] The Biden administration's trade policy in its second year in office is expected to maintain a stance of containing China while focusing on strengthening domestic industrial competitiveness and building economic alliances that share values such as labor, human rights, fairness, and the environment.

The Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, in its report titled "U.S. Trade Policy Directions and Key Issues in 2022" released on the 6th, anticipated that the Biden administration will prioritize maximizing industrial competitiveness through new legislation such as the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and the U.S. Competition Act, which are currently being coordinated after passing both the House and Senate.

Regarding the establishment of economic alliances, the report stated, "The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is scheduled to be actively promoted starting this year, will highlight core agendas such as 'labor standards,' 'digital trade,' and 'environmental friendliness,' and is expected to encourage participation from member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), where China's influence is significant." It added, "This is interpreted as an intention to increase U.S. influence in the region while simultaneously building economic alliances."

Additionally, the report noted the need to closely watch the Biden administration's future actions concerning the consolidation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which came into effect in 2020, the reform and functional restoration of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which had been approached with a lukewarm attitude, and responses to environmental issues such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Sunmin Park, a research fellow at the Korea International Trade Association, advised, "This year, the Biden administration's trade policy will be pursued with the goals of domestic economic reconstruction and industrial competitiveness enhancement, and externally, containing China and building value-based alliances." She added, "Although the protectionist stance of the Trump administration has been softened, with the midterm elections in November approaching, it is necessary to monitor and respond to the direction and legislation of U.S. trade policy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.