RCEP groups the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
The world’s largest trade deal — which includes China and excludes the U.S. — will come into force in January next year.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP was signed last year by 15 Asia-Pacific countries. The countries are the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and five of their largest trading partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Australia said in a statement on Tuesday that its ratification — together with New Zealand’s — paved the way for the deal to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2022, and allowed RCEP to reach a “milestone.”
RCEP covers a market of 2.2 billion people and $26.2 trillion of global output. The partnership will create a trade grouping that covers about 30% of the world’s population, as well as the global economy.
It is also larger than other regional trading blocs such as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the European Union.
Source: www.cnbc.com
