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In a presentation on “How Americans and Asians See Trade and TPP,” Bruce Stokes, Director of Global Economic Attitudes at Pew Research Center, presented data from a recent cross-national and longitudinal survey. Conducted by the Pew Research Center with a total of 45,435 respondents across 40 countries from March 25 to May 27, 2015, the survey’s objective was to compare similarities and differences in views towards trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) across America and Asia.
Key takeaways from the survey reveal that most people believe trade to be good for their country, with an Asian median of 86% and American median of 68% in favor of trade. There is also widespread support for the TPP internationally: 49% of Americans surveyed were in support for TPP, while up to 89% of Vietnamese were supportive.
Generally, the younger and more highly educated an individual was, the more inclined they were towards trade and viewing the TPP as “a good thing for their country.” American supporters of the TPP were primarily male, younger, and democrats. In South Korea specifically, poll data reveals that South Koreans actually think quite highly about trade and foreign investment, where key demographics expressing support for trade were male, older, and more highly educated.
Dr. Hahm Chaibong, President of the Asan Institute of Policy Studies, gave welcoming remarks, and Dr. Lee Hong-koo, Former Prime Minister of South Korea, gave opening remarks. More than 30 people attended the seminar, including representatives from the U.S. Embassy, Embassy of Switzerland, Turkish Embassy, Australian Embassy, and South African Embassy. Key participants also included Taeho Bark from Seoul National University, Byung-il Choi from Ewha Woman’s University, Amy Jackson from AMCHAM Korea, and Hankoo Yeo from the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE).
Date/Time: Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Place: Conference Room (4F), The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
Reported by: Rachel Leng
※ Bruce Stokes is director of global economic attitudes at Pew Research Center, where he assesses public views about economic conditions, foreign policy and values. He is also a non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund and an associate fellow at Chatham House. He is the former international economics correspondent for the National Journal, a former senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund and a former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is a member. Stokes is author of the recent Pew Research Center studies Americans, Japanese: Mutual Respect 70 Years After the End of WWII, Germany and the United States: Reliable Allies, Faith in European Project Reviving, Global Publics: Economic Conditions are Bad and Global Publics Back U.S. on Fighting ISIS, but Are Critical of Post-9/11 Torture. Stokes is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies. He has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including CNN, BBC, NPR, NBC, CBS and ABC and is a frequent speaker at major conferences around the world.