<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54958299" id="LPlnk" class="">https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54958299</a><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><h1 tabindex="-1" class="css-1c1994u-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-size: 2.75rem; line-height: 3rem; font-family: ReithSerif, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Biden vows to set 'rules of the road' on trade</h1>By BBC Business</div><div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" class="">11/17/2020</div><div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" class=""><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><b class="css-14iz86j-BoldText e5tfeyi0" style="margin: 0px;">Joe Biden has vowed to work with other democracies to rewrite the rules of international trade.</b></div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">The US president-elect signalled a shift from Donald Trump's policies, who pulled out of multilateral pacts and raised up tensions with China.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">His comments come just days after 15 Asia Pacific countries including China signed an historic trade pact.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership covers nearly a third of the world's economy and population.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">"We make up 25% of the world's trading capacity, of the economy of the world. We need to be aligned with the other democracies - another 25% or more - so that we can set the rules of the road," Mr Biden said.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">The alternative, he said, was to have "China and others dictate outcomes because they are the only game in town".</div></div></div><div data-component="crosshead-block" class="e1xue1i82 css-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper" style="margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 1rem 0px 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="e1fj1fc10 css-1jlqpzd-StyledHeading" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.25rem; font-family: ReithSerif, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif;">New direction</h2></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Mr Biden wouldn't be drawn on whether he would consider signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) or the rival Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">In an apparent jab at Mr Trump, he indicated that his administration's foreign and trade policies would strike a different tone than those of his predecessor.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">"I'm not looking for punitive trade. The idea that we are poking our finger in the eyes of our friends and embracing autocrats makes no sense to me," Mr Biden added.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Mr Trump withdrew from the TPP, a trade pact that was originally backed by the Obama administration.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">He also introduced tariffs on China and imposed restrictions on a number of Chinese technology companies on national security grounds.</div></div></div><div data-component="crosshead-block" class="e1xue1i82 css-mysbf6-ComponentWrapper-CrossheadComponentWrapper" style="margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 1rem 0px 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="e1fj1fc10 css-1jlqpzd-StyledHeading" style="margin: 0px; font-weight: 500; font-size: 2rem; line-height: 2.25rem; font-family: ReithSerif, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif;">Duelling deals</h2></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Although he would not say what deals the US might consider joining, Mr Biden outlined some of the conditions for US involvement in international trade agreements.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">"One, we're going to invest in American workers and make them more competitive. Number two, we're going to make sure labour is at the table, and environmentalists are at the table in trade deals we make," he said.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">The RCEP is made up of 10 Southeast Asian countries, as well as South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Although both deals include many of the same countries, China was never a part of the TPP and the US was never a part of RCEP.</div></div></div><div data-component="text-block" class="css-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper e1xue1i81" style="margin: 1rem 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; max-width: 36.25rem; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="e5tfeyi2 css-83cqas-RichTextContainer" style="margin: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">After the US withdrew in 2017, the remaining members of the TPP signed onto a successor agreement which made specific provisions to allow the US to re-join.</div></div></div><section data-component="tag-list" class="e1nh2i2l4 css-144ki52-SectionWrapper" style="margin: 1.5rem 0px; padding: 1.5rem 0px 0px; font-family: ReithSans, Helvetica, Arial, freesans, sans-serif; color: rgb(63, 63, 66); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="css-2yhany-StyledTagContainer ed0g1kj0" style="margin: 0px; font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.125rem;"><div class="e1nh2i2l3 css-4c4zzp-SectionHeaderWrapper" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5rem;"></div></div></section></div></div><br class=""><div class="">
Arthur Stamoulis<br class="">Citizens Trade Campaign<br class="">(202) 494-8826<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">
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