The RCEP is viewed as an extended trade agreement of ASEAN with its partners (Source: asean.org)Hanoi (VNA) - Economic ministers from 16 Asian-Pacific countries acknowledgedon September 10 that no agreement on the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) will be finalised by year-end.
Theministers involving in negotiating RCEP, an alternative trade pact to thefloundering Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact in Manila, the Philippines, saidthey will strive to make major progress by November when the leaders of the 16nations meet in Manila.
TheRCEP is the only option given the current negotiations of the TPP, saidPhilippine trade undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.
TheRCEP participating countries abandoned the target of concluding thenegotiations within this year due to differences in tariff reduction orelimination targets as well as services to be opened up, according to Rodolfo.
Those16 nations are China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, Australia and NewZealand, and the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.
TheRCEP is viewed as an extended trade agreement of ASEAN with its partners,covering half the world’s population, and 30 percent of global gross domesticproduct (GDP). - VNA
