Hugh StephensDistinguished Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
This year Japan assumes the Chairmanship of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and will convene the annual meeting of the Parties, known as the CPTPP Commission. Recall that the CPTPP, the eleven-country agreement that emerged out of the ashes of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) when the U.S. withdrew after Donald Trump took office, came into effect at the very end of December 2018. Six of the eleven signatories (Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore) fast-tracked their domestic ratification process, allowing the Agreement to come into effect, jump-starting additional tariff reductions that would take effect on January 1, 2019. A seventh member, Vietnam, ratified it a couple of months later, leaving Brunei, Chile, Malaysia and Peru still to complete the ratification process.
Trade tonic Trade tonic
Two mega-deals will help regional economies recover more quickly from the pandemic and reap major gains in the long term. By Nareerat Wiriyapong
published : 25 Jan 2021 at 12:30
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Two mega free-trade agreements (FTAs) will contribute immediately to the recovery of Southeast Asian countries because they broaden and deepen free trade with key partners at a time when the region is dealing with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, leading analysts say.
Signed at the Asean Summit hosted by Hanoi on Nov 15 last year, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is seen as a positive affirmation of the region s willingness to maintain open trade flows. The Asia-wide pact involves 10 Asean nations, the so-called Plus Three economies China, Japan and South Korea and Australia and New Zealand.