Trump’s trade chief expects US to ink more deals during Apec, Asean trips.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said he expects President Donald Trump to sign more trade deals with countries in Southeast Asia during a trip later this year, without specifying the trading partners close to finalising agreements.
“The president is going to do a swing through Asia at the end of October, and we expect that at that time, we’ll be able to sign some of these deals,” Greer said in an interview Tuesday (Sept 30) on Fox Business.
The agreements Trump has already struck, including with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, have been broad frameworks with the details to be finalised later. It was unclear if Greer was referring to previous deals or new pacts in his remarks. He added that the US has already announced some high-level details of deals he expects Trump to announce.
Trump has said that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit to be held next month in South Korea. Also in October is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders’ summit, which will be held in Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in July that Trump had accepted an invitation to attend that summit.
Malaysia’s Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said last week that his country is aiming to conclude tariff talks with the US before the Asean summit. The US has imposed a 19% tariff on Malaysian goods separate from industry-specific levies.
Negotiations for lower tariff rates and less restrictive trade conditions with the US are ongoing for many countries, with details of agreements yet to be finalised.
The agreement with South Korea is one of the pacts that have yet to be formalised, with negotiations continuing over the terms of Seoul’s US$350 billion (RM1.47 trillion) investment pledge that Trump has described as an upfront commitment. The countries are also at odds over auto tariffs, with South Korea pushing for a swift resolution to obtain a lower 15% tariff rate on those exports.
Source: Theedgemalaysia