"the us can either participate or veto": middle-sized countries are dissatisfied with "small courtyards and high walls"
2024-09-21
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reference news reported on september 21on september 18, the washington post published an article titled "a path to reglobalization after trump and biden" by eduardo porter. the article is excerpted as follows:
last year, us president’s national security advisor sullivan strode into the brookings institution in washington to explain to anxious policymakers and diplomats why president biden was happy to inherit the protectionist policy shift from trump.
sullivan raised some eyebrows at the conference, assuring the audience that all the nation needed for national security was a "small courtyard with high walls."
it’s safe to say that sullivan’s speech was not well received outside of washington. in much of the world, his proposed new order was felt to be an existential threat to the open markets that are the hope for many economies.
adam posen, president of the peterson institute for international economics, said that the economic success of the world's middle powers, such as indonesia, singapore, kenya and even some eu member states, depends on an open world economy, and they are sending a message to washington: "lead, follow or get out of the way." if the united states refuses to participate, the rest of the world should try to reach its own trade and investment agreements. the united states can be invited to join, but it should not be allowed to veto the process.
the united states is becoming an obstacle to building basic institutions and protocols to address challenges, including climate change and artificial intelligence management. rising tensions between the united states and china have led to geopolitics constraining economic relations.
the u.s. government has undermined the world trade organization’s dispute settlement mechanism, essentially allowing the u.s. to ignore wto rulings that are unfavorable to it. meanwhile, the biden administration’s “small yard” is getting bigger and bigger, from blocking china’s access to advanced semiconductor technology to blocking japan’s acquisition of an american steelmaker; from stopping imports of chinese clean energy technology to forcing u.s. allies such as mexico and argentina to follow its lead and abandon deals with china.
for developing countries, the bickering between superpowers threatens to undermine the most powerful engine of economic development the world has ever seen, one that has played a vital role in raising living standards in rich and poor countries alike.
fixing the rules that the united states has broken is necessary: there is an urgent need to build an alternative mechanism for resolving trade disputes. many countries are already working on this. regional trade agreements can be deepened and expanded, and multilateral agreements on specific issues can be negotiated. perhaps something beneficial will entice the united states to rejoin.
the united states frequently cites national security as an excuse, which poses a major obstacle to an open world economy. the key question now is how much the united states is willing to sacrifice in order to protect a national security backyard of uncertain scope and allow other countries to move forward in its absence. (compiled by pan xiaoyan)
