The US trade ambassador has admitted that America needs to make a “course correction” in the Asia-Pacific region, as Washington attempts to re-establish its economic superpower credentials following its withdrawal from a trade pact under Donald Trump.

Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, was asked directly by Japan’s foreign minister during her visit to Tokyo to lead the US back into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the successor to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

But in an exclusive interview with the Financial Times on Thursday, Tai set out the ways in which the US planned to strengthen relations with partners without joining the regional pact. She argued that there were other structures that were better placed to address challenges than a trade deal negotiated more than eight years ago.