Speakers take a group photo with Worachai Bhicharnchitr (fourth right), vice-chairman of Bangkok Post Plc, at the forum on November 21 (Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/)Bangkok (VNA) - Despite thesetbacks, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal has thepotential to dramatically improve economic prospects among its members, said AuramonSupthaweethum, Director-General of the Trade Negotiations Department under theThai Ministry of Commerce.
Speakingat an international forum on tradewars, RCEP and economic trends hosted by Bangkok Post in Bangkok on November 21,Auramon said the RCEP willbe the largest trade deal Thailand has ever joined.
It is a high-quality free trade agreement (FTA) that goes well beyond existingFTAs, and Thailand believes that the RCEP will enhance competitiveness andproductivity while facilitating trade and investment among the trade pact’s membercountries, she stressed.
Auramon said her department will still have to sell the idea to parliament andbusiness stakeholders before the government signs off on the final version,adding that to get relevant parties cooperating, the deal must be balanced,spreading its benefits among stakeholders and providing remediation to theinevitable losers in the FTA.
The RCEP trade deal, which has been undernegotiation for the past six years, saw a major setback when India, one of theRCEP's 16 members, walked out at the last minute of the talks at the 35th ASEANSummit in Bangkok earlier this month.
It is a multilateral trade agreement between the10 member states of ASEAN - Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - and its partners.It aims to set up a stronger cooperation foundation in the region, focusing ontrade, service, and investment.
Once signed, the deal will create the largestfree trade area in the world with about 3.5 billion people and making up 30percent of the global GDP and 40 percent of the world trade./.
VNA
