ASEAN and six Asian leaders this November will announce the official establishment of the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP), making it the largest market of free trade on the globe.
"The leaders should come up with a formal declaration to forms of the RCEP. The negotiations should begin early next year to wrap up the pact by 2015, just in time for the full implementation of the Asean Economic Community, "said Somkiat Triratpan, Deputy Director-General of the trade negotiations Department, last week.
The leaders from 16 countries will mainly discuss the RCEP or Asean + 6 free trade agreement amid concerns about global economic growth slows, he said.
The announcement is scheduled from 15-20 November at the Summit of the leaders of Asean in Cambodia. The RCEP will gather the FTAs between Asean and the six partner countries, and then further agreements to open up more trade, services and investment between Member States.
The RCEP countries will commit to nearly 100% of trade liberalisation among them after many effective bilateral free trade area pacts between Asean and its partners. However, there is still a certain degree of protectionism of some countries for sensitive goods such as rice.
The region can also move slowly on freeing of service and investment under the RCEP due development disparities between the economies, so the RCEP countries have to continue to eliminate the barriers to the opening of the service and investment to integrate more deeply.
ASEAN countries and the private sector for eyes the RCEP as paving the way for the Asian economy and balance expansion between Eastern and Western countries to help. The pact worth US $ 17 trillion in trade will also have the power of the u.s.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which is the collection of nine members of the trade in Asia-Pacific offset.
The RCEP will also serve as an important stepping stone to the achievement of the free trade area of the Asia-Pacific by 2020.
ASEAN groups 10 countries in Southeast Asia. The six partner countries are China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
The other Asean countries and six partners together for 56 percent or 255 billion dollars of total trade of Thailand. If this regional free trade pact is successfully completed, Thailand will be able to substantially increase trade with those countries, he added.
According to the Thailand Development Research Institute and the Department of study, will help the Thai economy with the RCEP 4.03 percent. Local products that are best served processed fruit and vegetables, electrical appliances and electronics, auto parts, rubber and plastic.
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