Joint Business Economics and Trade & Investment Committees U.S.-China Policies and Impact on Asia Pacific

On April 27, to over 60 members, AMCHAM Joint Business Economics and Trade & Investment Committees presented U.S.-China Policies and Impact on Asia Pacific. AMCHAM Business Economics Committee Co-Chair Luca Bernardinetti, Mahanakorn Partners Group; introduced guest speakers Catherine Simmons, Citi; Kirida Bhaopichitr, TDRI Economic Intelligence Service (EIS), Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI); and Pana Janviroj, Asia News Network. The speakers illustrated the outlook for Thailand and Southeast Asia during the Biden administration, covering the impact on key global and regional trade issues, geopolitical and trade dynamics, inter- and intra-regional competition, and U.S.-China relations.

Catherine spoke on the Biden administration’s initial actions on strengthening communication and understanding, and cooperation with its allies, multi-lateral organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Asia. She touched briefly on the U.S.-China relationship dynamics and outcome of the Alaska meeting. She mentioned that the priority for the administration is to work with like-minded countries to battle Covid-19, accelerate economic recovery, and to collaborate on the vaccination drive.

Dr. Kirida gave an overview on the impacts of U.S.-China policies on the Thai economy. She mentioned that there are two dimensions to discuss this: economic recovery of the U.S. and China from Covid-19 and the ongoing U.S-China tensions. She mentioned that the U.S. will be the first to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which will a have positive impact on Thai exports and tourism. The International Monetary Fund has forecasted that the U.S. economy will grow by 6.4% this year due to the fast progress of vaccinations.

Pana added to both the speakers’ presentations and said that the Biden administration is on the path to restore credibility. First by rolling out the vaccination drive, followed by reformed tax laws, and by strengthening cooperation with its allies.

The event was followed by an engaging question-and-answer session moderated by Luca.