Subject: txt trade -
While the Obama administration has put its energy into trade wars with China, free trade is marching on without the United States...
- China and Asia's Tigers -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- scrapped 7,000 different tariffs to form a $200 billion open market for about 2 billion consumers, one-third of the world's population.
- Jan. 1 also heralded another ASEAN free-trade pact with mighty India, ending tariffs on 4,000 products staggered through 2016; this deal will expand a $50 billion market for 1.5 billion consumers into something even bigger.
- ASEAN also signed off on free trade with Australia and New Zealand, tacking on another $50 billion market to expand for their 600 million consumers.
- It follows ASEAN's Dec. 1 agreement with Japan, which created a $240 billion market for 670 million.
- In addition, Thailand and South Korea completed the last step of 2007's ASEAN-Korea pact, finalizing expansion of the zone to a $72 billion market for 600 million.
A year or three from now, the Obama administration may still be coddling jurassic labor unions that abhor free trade and fencing off America's market and hoping no one notices, but nobody doubts the Asian states are going to be growing...
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