Free Republic

Trade barriers between most countries in the Asia Pacific will be lowered significantly from January 1 as the world’s largest free trading bloc opens for business. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a trade deal between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP will cover about 30% of global gross domestic product (GDP), worth $26.2 trillion (€23.17 trillion), and nearly a third of the world’s population, some 2.2 billion people. By comparison, the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) covers 28% of world trade, while the European Union’s Single...

An internal assessment of India’s bilateral free trade agreements with nine countries, including five signatories of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), played a pivotal role in the government firming its position against joining the mega trade pact. The assessment showed a “moderate utilisation rate” of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) over a five-year period, and a trade deficit for India in most cases, save in regard to SAARC nations, The Indian Express has learnt. While the remaining RCEP members went ahead and inked a deal on Sunday — a little over a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India...