THE Philippines has urged the so-called big boys, or six major non-Asean economies, in the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to resolve issues that stand in the way of a quick conclusion of the RCEP, saying it’s crucial to settle the trade deal before an actual trade war erupts.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez aired his demand to the big boys of the RCEP, as their ministerial meeting on Sunday in Tokyo comes to a near. Trade ministers of the 16 RCEP negotiating countries will review new submissions and reports from the trade negotiating committee and give instructions on what to do with the proposed agreement for the latter half of the year.
Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have agreed to conclude the RCEP this year. However, differences between the big boys, or the six non-Asean economies, continue to delay the trade deal from being finalized.
Australia and Japan are pushing for drastic tariff reductions and modest intellectual-property rights protection under the RCEP. This does not sit well with China and India.
Lopez said the big boys have yet to resolve their concerns, and he hopes this will be ironed out at the ministerial meeting to allow the RCEP to move forward. He also said the larger economies have to make some adjustments to close the discussion on various chapters of the RCEP.
“We hope to see adjustments from them to get closer to the prescribed parameters and key elements in the agreement,” Lopez told the BusinessMirror.
He asserted that concluding the RCEP is, more than ever, critical, as global trade floats in uncertainty arising from the trade conflict between the United States and China. The situation calls for “more resolve to conclude” the trade deal, Lopez said.
In a joint statement in March, the trade ministers admitted there is a difference in the levels of ambition between the RCEP negotiating countries. Negotiators were tasked to work this out, and they were also instructed to address specific sensitivities faced by each economy.
The RCEP is an ambitious free- trade agreement aimed at consolidating the Asean’s bilateral FTAs with its partners. The 16 RCEP economies account for almost half of the world’s population, about 30 percent of global GDP and over 25 percent of the world’s exports.
The RCEP is branded as a strong counterpart of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as it will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, e-commerce, dispute settlement and other issues. It is intended to lower barriers to trade and provide market access for exporters.
Apart from this, it is also banked on, particularly by Asean member-states, to deepen regional value chains, enhance economic growth, generate jobs and improve the livelihood of people.