Trade chief says RCEP to be concluded this year, signed in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, are set to conclude this year, with the signing of the free trade deal seen happening in early 2020, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

“With 20 out of the 25 chapters concluded in the last meeting in Vietnam, the full conclusion of the RCEP this year is very probable,” Lopez said in a statement released Friday.

“RCEP parties are pushing for their respective interests and there are naturally complexities in the negotiations, amidst the backdrop of a changing global economic environment,” he added.

Talks are ongoing to negotiate the China-initiated RCEP, which was widely viewed as a rival to the US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership. Shortly after taking office, US President Donald Trump, who is pushing an “America First” policy, formally abandoned the TPP.

Trump’s protectionist leanings created an air of uncertainty over his trade policy, prompting Asia to turn to RCEP. The Philippines is one of the participating countries in RCEP along with the rest of ASEAN and other countries such as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

According to Lopez, two additional meetings were scheduled prior to the third RCEP Leaders’ Summit to meet this year’s deadline. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral