East Asia Updates-July 2017

Abstract

Following much pessimism about the prospects for globalisation and free trade in 2016 due to ‘Brexit’ and the election of Donald Trump as United States (US) President, 2017 has seen greater optimism with the Netherlands, France, and Austria electing leaders who are positively disposed towards free trade and globalisation. Expected cooperation between Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, and Mark Rutte means the integration process in the European Union (EU) is likely to continue and the platform of free trade will be preserved. Such renewed optimism was also evident at the G20 summit held on 7 and 8 July 2017 in Hamburg, Germany, where the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies emphasised the need to share the benefits of globalisation. In their summit declaration, the G20 leaders expressed their resolve to support free trade and open markets to help the global economy recover from the Great Recession, the sharp decline in economic activity during the late 2000s. Another indication of the fight against protectionism was the political agreement on a strategic partnership reached between the EU and Japan just before the G20 summit.