20 December 2020 : Phil Levy, Flexport US President Donald Trump began his term in office by withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). That presaged further tensions that strained trans-Pacific ties: there were threats to withdraw from a trade deal with South Korea; steel and aluminium tariffs that treated erstwhile allies such as Japan as national security threats; and a massive trade war with China. And most recently, Vietnam and its currency policies have appeared in the crosshairs. President-elect Joe Biden has been highly critical of Trump’s approach, emphasising the importance of alliances. He was vice president for an administration that took pride in its ‘pivot to Asia’. As Biden looks to reverse objectionable Trump policies, might he not start by reviving the US commitment to the TPP?