By Channing Lee
To read the full article, please click here.
Abstract
After the withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), questions loomed about the future of U.S. involvement in the region’s trade affairs. Though the debate about the TPP continues, a new question has arisen: should the U.S. pursue a digital trade agreement with Asian-Pacific partners? Since U.S. trade with Asia has grown significantly in the last two decades, and digital trade mirrors the trend alongside global technological advancement, the Biden administration might find it promising to lead negotiations on a digital trade agreement (DTA) in the Indo-Pacific. However, the President’s worker-centric foreign policy agenda, bureaucratic obstacles, and nationwide political divisions will create many challenges for the administration. This paper will explore the prospects of a U.S.-DTA in Asia, concluding that it is worth the administration’s while to try.
To continue reading, please click here.