Trump's Trade Negotiator Makes Asia Debut At APEC Talks

Trump's trade negotiator makes Asia debut at APEC talks

HANOI, , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2017 ) - Donald Trump's new pointman on trade met Asia-Pacific trade ministers in Hanoi on Saturday as Washington reverses gear on sprawling free trade pacts in favour of one-to-one deals.

With his tough rhetoric on winning back American jobs, President Trump's elevation to the White House has raised serious fears over a new protectionist era. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a veteran Reagan-era trade negotiator with protectionist credentials, is carrying his administration's "America First" ethos with him to Vietnam for the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) trade ministers' meet.

Trump favours bilateral trade deals over the ambitious multilateral pacts of Barack Obama's administration, which included the sprawling 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The US pulled out of the TPP in January, after Trump labelled it a "job killer." That dismayed the other 11 signatories -- including Japan, Australia, Singapore and Vietnam -- who saw it as a guarantor of regional free trade.

Lighthizer met with his Japanese counterpart on Saturday. The US and Japan "agreed to promote mutually beneficial trade, fight trade barriers and trade distorting measures," according to a statement from Lighthizer and his Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko. Japan is spearheading efforts to keep the TPP afloat.