Looming RCEP deal could help unlock conclusion of Trans-Pacific FTA
South Korea has joined 15 other countries in holding
fresh talks on a regional free-trade agreement to be held in Myanmar
next month, when it is hoped that a cross-Asia RCEP deal will make
significant headway in unexpectedly quick time.
fresh talks on a regional free-trade agreement to be held in Myanmar
next month, when it is hoped that a cross-Asia RCEP deal will make
significant headway in unexpectedly quick time.
Officials of the countries intend to step up efforts to conclude the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations, which
began in 2012.
The meetings have involved South Korea, Japan, China and the 10 members of Asean, as well as Australia, New Zealand and India.
If agreed, they would form the largest regional trading bloc in the
world, accounting for 45% of the world population, with a combined GDP
of US$21.4tr.
The next round of talks will be the ninth surrounding the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and come amid hopes of for a
major breakthrough after earlier talks.
"There is a sense of urgency for a deal among the participating
countries as they have set a deadline for negotiations at the end of the
year," said South Korea’s deputy trade minister, Woo Tae-hee. "The countries are making considerable efforts to move their negotiations forward.”
The new round of RCEP negotiations, scheduled for August 3-7, will be
followed by a special meeting of the countries’ trade ministers in
Kuala Lumpur three weeks after the initial meeting begins.
In the last meeting, held in Malaysia earlier in July, Thailand urged
members to waive tax on 85% of all imports over the next decade.
Taiwanese Premier Mao Chi-kuo said his country’s participation in the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is also currently being negotiated by
some of the members of the RCEP group and some North and Latin American
countries including the United States, could only make joining the RCEP “relatively uncomplicated”.
