Korea, China and Japan reaffirm commitment to anti-protectionism

Korea, China and Japan has all together stood against the U.S. stance on protectionist trade policies. They issued Friday a joint statement, saying, “We will resist to all forms of protectionism,” in the 17th trilateral meeting among finance ministers and central bank governors in Yokohama, Japan. The three nations are pledging to stand against protectionist policies, which have increasingly become aggressive since U.S. President Donald Trump took the presidency.

The Trump administration has been advocating the “America First” campaign since Trump’s inauguration in January and supporting protectionist policies to help promote American corporations. Against the backdrop of the opposition from the U.S. to anti-protectionist framework, G20’s financial leaders decided to drop the line “We will resist all forms of protectionism” from its communique in three years during their meeting in March in Baden-Baden, Germany. In addition, Trump has recently suggested renegotiation of its free trade agreement deal with South Korea, adding to worries over his protectionist position.

However, Korea, China and Japan have agreed on strengthening financial cooperation in order to improve stability and confidence in the Asian financial market. “We will deepen regional financial cooperation to advance operational capability and effectiveness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM),” the joint statement cited. “We look forward to stronger coordination between CMIM and the International Monetary Fund.” Korea has signed a multilateral currency swap deal to withdraw as much as 38.4 million dollars under a regional financial safety net CMIM framework.

Min-Woo Park minwoo@donga.com