ASEAN nations sign world’s largest trade pact
The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, on November 15 eventually signed a long-discussed regional trade deal called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The signing took place after eight years of negotiations between the 15 counties, following the withdrawal of India. Officials said the accord leaves the door open for India, which dropped out due to fierce domestic opposition to its market-opening requirements, to rejoin the bloc.
The agreement is aimed at cutting duties and tariffs and establishing common rules in areas such as e-commerce and intellectual property. It will account for 30 per cent of the global economy with a combined GDP of $26.2 trillion, 30 per cent of the global population and reach 2.2 billion consumers.
The accord is basically a coup for China, by far the biggest market in the region with more than 1.3 billion people. The US is absent from RCEP, which leaves the world’s biggest economy out of a trade group that span the fastest-growing region on earth.
Fitting the needs of member states
The RCEP agreement is loose enough to stretch to fit the disparate needs of member countries as diverse as Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia. Unlike the European Union, it does not establish unified standards on labour and the environment or commit countries to open services and other vulnerable areas of their economies.
But it does set rules for trade that will facilitate investment and other business within the region, experts say.
The pact will take final effect once enough participating countries ratify the agreement domestically within the next two years.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) encompasses 15 nations. The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, on November 15 eventually signed a long-discussed regional trade deal called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The signing took place after eight years of negotiations between the 15 counties, following the withdrawal of India. Officials said the accord leaves the door open for India, which dropped out due to fierce domestic opposition to its market-opening requirements, to rejoin the bloc. The agreement is aimed at cutting duties and tariffs and establishing...
The ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, on November 15 eventually signed a long-discussed regional trade deal called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The signing took place after eight years of negotiations between the 15 counties, following the withdrawal of India. Officials said the accord leaves the door open for India, which dropped out due to fierce domestic opposition to its market-opening requirements, to rejoin the bloc.
The agreement is aimed at cutting duties and tariffs and establishing common rules in areas such as e-commerce and intellectual property. It will account for 30 per cent of the global economy with a combined GDP of $26.2 trillion, 30 per cent of the global population and reach 2.2 billion consumers.
The accord is basically a coup for China, by far the biggest market in the region with more than 1.3 billion people. The US is absent from RCEP, which leaves the world’s biggest economy out of a trade group that span the fastest-growing region on earth.
Fitting the needs of member states
The RCEP agreement is loose enough to stretch to fit the disparate needs of member countries as diverse as Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia. Unlike the European Union, it does not establish unified standards on labour and the environment or commit countries to open services and other vulnerable areas of their economies.
But it does set rules for trade that will facilitate investment and other business within the region, experts say.
The pact will take final effect once enough participating countries ratify the agreement domestically within the next two years.
