Asia could benefit from some Trump policies

IF US President Donald Trump continues to pursue the policies he adopted in the first seven months of his tenure or if he implements some of what he has said, how would that affect the Asian continent? Asia will be influenced in several different ways. Of these, two are of particular importance for the continent. These are management of the continent's external trade and migration.

Former US president Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia" is now a distant memory. The most important initiative taken by Mr Trump's predecessor of relevance for Asia was in the area of trade. Over a period of two years, Mr Obama and his associates negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

It took that long since the 11 Asian and Latin American countries located on either side of the Pacific were not initially enthusiastic about working with United States and partnering it in the arrangement. But the American leadership felt differently. "Passing the TPP is as important to me as another aircraft carrier," said Ashton Carter, defence secretary in the Obama administration.