“Securing and Economising the US-Japan Partnership under Trump 2.0.”

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and C. Lawrence Greenwood
Publication Date: 
January 28th, 2025

In this Op-Ed, the Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and Ambassador (Ret.) C. Lawrence Greenwood assess the prospects for the United States (US) -Japan economic security partnership under Trump. 2.0. This partnership, built on bilateral and multilateral pillars, will face challenges after Donald Trump reenters the White House because of Trump’s preference for one-to-one dealmaking, skepticism of multilateral institutions, and he and his administration’s dislike of green energy and CHIPS Act subsidies. It will be further tested by tariffs threats and American demands for increased Japanese military burden sharing. Good news may be found in the favorable views some of Trump’s team have of Japan and desire for more foreign direct investment (FDI). The authors emphasize the need for both countries to find common interests and adopt flexible frameworks to sustain their partnership, with a focus on areas like joint R&D and increased Japanese FDI in the US and facilitating supply chain decoupling from China.

Jean-Marc F. Blanchard and C. Lawrence Greenwood, “Securing and Economising the US-Japan Partnership under Trump 2.0,” East Asia Forum, January 28, 2025 is available at https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/01/28/securing-and-economising-the-us-jap.... It has been reprinted in Eurasia Review on January 29, 2025 as “Securing And Economizing The US–Japan Partnership Under Trump 2.0 – Analysis,” https://www.eurasiareview.com/29012025-securing-and-economizing-the-us-j....

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