U.S. Protectionism and Trade Imbalance between the U.S. and Northeast Asian Countries

Trade growth has slowed since the global financial crisis. In 2016, growth in the volume of world trade was 1.9%, down from the 2.8% increase registered in 2015. Imports to developed countries will be moderate in 2017, while demand for imported goods in developing Asian economies could continue to rise. Despite rising imports into Asia, the ratio of trade growth in the world has been lower than the ratio of global economic growth since 2013. Therefore, many countries have tried to create bilateral, multilateral, regional and mega free trade agreements (FTAs) in order to boost their trade volumes and economic growth. East Asian countries try to build regional FTAs and participate in different mega FTAs such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). As a result, their economic interests are rather deeply divided and are related to political and security issues in the East Asian context. At the same time, the protectionism led by the Trump administration in the U.S. stands in contrast to the approach taken by East Asian countries. This paper deals with this development and explores why the U.S. has turned from free and open trade toward so-called fair trade based on a policy of "America first." It also offers an analysis of the reasons for trade imbalances between the U.S. and Northeast Asian countries. Finally, it evaluates how U.S. protectionism will affect mega FTAs as well as East Asian economic cooperation.