- May 23, 2022

POTUS Asia Trip: Key Things To Know

Updated: May 24, 2022

President Biden completed his trip to South Korea and Japan. Below is a quick rundown of the key policy-related matters.

U.S. Investment Announcement

On the eve of the trip, Hyundai announced that it will make $10 billion in investments in the United States into 2025, including $5.4 billion in new electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia. The EV facility, in Bryan County, Georgia, will break ground in early 2023, will begin commercial production in the first half of 2025, and will have an annual capacity of 300,000 units.

There were no other major new U.S. investment announcements, though the President did see a South Korea-based facility that may mirror a new Texas semiconductor manufacturing facility of Samsung announced last November.

Defense of Taiwan

During a press conference, a U.S. reporter asked the President: “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that? The President answered: “ Yes, it is a commitment we made.” Soon after, the Administration clarified that U.S. policy has not changed with respect to military support of Taiwan by the United States; that, U.S. commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act remain the same – i.e., providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

China subsequently released a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesman: “No one should underestimate the strong determination, firm will, and strong ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Economy & Trade

The Biden Administration is generally not pursuing any comprehensive, multilateral trade agreement such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiated by the Obama Administration (and dropped by the Trump Administration) during this Asia trip, or otherwise. Instead, the Administration is focusing on “bilateral” and “trilateral” ministerial and commercial dialogues, among other methods, to gradually advance trade goals. The Administration claims that at some point discussions with Asia partners will yield documented agreements in some form.

The centerpiece of action on economy/trade within this trip is a multilateral agreement to collaborate going forward within a specific “framework.” The Indo-Pacific Framework on Prosperity includes the following four pillars:

Connected Economy. Engage on ‘rules of the road’ in the digital economy such as standards on cross-border data flows and data localization; address issues is such as online privacy and discriminatory and unethical use of Artificial Intelligence; labor and environment standards; and corporate accountability provisions.
Resilient Economy. Seek supply chain commitments to better anticipate and prevent disruptions in supply chains to create a more resilient economy and guard against price spikes including through an early warning system, mapping critical mineral supply chains, improving sector traceability, and coordinating on diversification efforts.
Clean Economy. Seek commitments on clean energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure that promote good-paying jobs, including “concrete, high-ambition targets” to accelerate climate crisis efforts in areas of renewable energy, carbon removal, energy efficiency standards, and new measures to combat methane emissions.
Fair Economy. Seek commitments to “enact and enforce” tax, anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery regimes, to include provisions on the exchange of tax information, the criminalization of bribery, and the effective implementation of beneficial ownership recommendations to strengthen our efforts to crack down on corruption.

Other notable actions on the economy and trade include:

U.S.-Japan “discussed a joint effort” on more effective and agile export controls on critical technologies, including microelectronics and cyber surveillance systems, to address the misuse of critical technologies by malicious actors and inappropriate transfers of emerging technologies.
Both U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea discussions mentioned current and future collaborations on 5G technology supplier concerns and Open RAN efforts.
U.S.-South Korea agreed to establish a regular ministerial-level Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue to discuss promotion of resilient supply chains of key products, including semiconductors, batteries, and critical minerals.
US.-South Korea committed to greater nuclear energy collaboration and to accelerate the development and global deployment of advanced reactors and small modular reactors. The U.S. also welcomed South Korea’s decision to join the U.S.-led Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program.
U.S.-Japan outlined current/future cooperation on various technology, energy, and business-oriented climate matters, and the White House articulated these in a separate U.S.-Japan Climate Partnership Fact Sheet.
U.S.-Japan said they are “partnering” on a new undersea telecommunications cable to improve telecommunications in the Indo-Pacific region.

Countering China

Asia Quad countries announced a new maritime surveillance effort called the "Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness" (IPMDA). The countries – the United States, Australia, India and Japan – say they “will offer a near-real-time, integrated, and cost-effective maritime domain awareness picture” to country partners for three regions —the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean region.

IPMDA will use commercial Automatic Identification System (AIS) and radio-frequency technologies to provide domain awareness information to information fusion centers including the Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region, based in India; the Information Fusion Center, based in Singapore; the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, based in the Solomon Islands, and the Pacific Fusion Center, based in Vanuatu.

While the central purpose of the Quad is to counter the rising security threat of China in the Pacific, the U.S. fact sheet on this matter does not mention China, and highlights that the IPMDA will help address dark shipping (where ships turn off AIS), illegal fishing, and responding to climate and humanitarian events. It is likely, however, that this effort has a direct connection towards helping countries in the Pacific monitor the movement of Chinese vessels of any nature.

Among the related leader statements released:

Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden expressed opposition to China’s unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea; reiterated strong opposition to China’s unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and coercive activities in the South China Sea.
President Yoon and President Biden reaffirmed commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful use of the seas, including in the South China Sea and beyond.
President Yoon and President Biden reiterated the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as an essential element in security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden reiterated opposition to any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan’s longstanding administration of the Senkaku Islands.