ZCZC
BCN-15
US-CHINA-IMF-TRADE
Regional Asian exporters could be ‘crowded out’ in US-China trade pact
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A coming trade pact between
Washington and Beijing could mean US goods will out-muscle regional Asian
exporters reliant on sales to China, the International Monetary Fund warned
Friday.
“In the case of an agreement involving managed trade, with China committed
to import more from the US, reducing imports from elsewhere can be an issue,”
Changyong Rhee, head of the IMF Asia Department, told reporters during the
fund’s spring meetings with the World Bank.
“There could be negative impacts on other countries whose exports to China
would be crowded out by US exports.”
Washington and Beijing have been in talks since the start of the year to
resolve their nine-month trade war.
Beijing has floated offers to make eye-popping purchases of US
agricultural and energy exports as a means of cutting its soaring trade
surplus with the United States.
President Donald Trump has been outraged by the US trade deficit with
China, which has increased despite the punishing tariffs he imposed last year
on Chinese imports.
Countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Mongolia are crude
exporters to China, suggesting they could lose market share should US exports
to China increase.
Rhee also said Friday that formal bilateral purchase agreement would be a
departure from the prevailing rules governing international trade.
“Likewise if the deal involves preferential access for the US to the
Chinese markets, this could lead to broader worries about the future of the
multilateral trade system,” he said.
BSS/AFP/HR/1012