Roundup: Asia-Pacific countries gear up for RCEP negotiations

Asia-Pacific countries are gathering in Indonesia for the 16th round of Regional Comprehensive Economy Partnership (RCEP) negotiation with eagerness shifting to the regional free-trade pact as the U.S. plans exit from Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Launched in November 2012, the RCEP talks involve 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and six dialogue partners-China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India - with an aim to facilitate expansion of regional trade and investment.

Indonesian Trade Minister Engartiasto Lukita said that the negotiation process among TPP members now becomes crucial following the uncertain fate of TPP and recent development in global trade after Britain's exit from the European Union.

"With such a condition, the RCEP becomes a hope. Huge anxieties on major changing in global trade regime have been circulated among several countries at present. It made them shift their aspirations to RCEP," the minister said on the sidelines of RCEP negotiation opening ceremony on Tuesday.

The minister said that the delegations were intensifying negotiations in goods, services and investments sectors with major disagreements still persisting.

"Among the disagreements that persist in negotiations, (there are) how to set the levels of tariff reduction in service sector, how to initiate the investments and the parameters to measure them as well," he said.

In RCEP Indonesia acts as the coordinator of ASEAN member countries and the chair of Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC), the minister said.

Should the RCEP take into effect, the free-trade deal pact may benefit over 3 billion people that accounts for 45 percent of the world's population and around 30 percent of global trade.

China has been taking active stance to promote and support the negotiations aimed at establishing the RCEP. Analysts believe that RCEP will become the main path toward the final realization of a Free Trade Agreement Asia Pacific (FTAAP), which was highly commended at the recent APEC leaders summit held in Lima, Peru.

TPP signatories from ASEAN countries had announced to turn to RCEP shortly after United States president-elect Donald Trump announced the exit of his country from TPP where it used to lead.

Donald Trump has assured the United States exit from TPP, saying that it will happen on his first day entering the White House, scheduled in January.

"Trump knows that manufacturing industry at home won't be able to compete with other TPP members due to relatively higher production cost," an international trade analyst from Indonesia's Institute of Science (LIPI) Siwage Dharma Negara told Xinhua in a recent interview.

He said that Trump regards TPP would even threaten the United States industry and destroy job opportunities in the United States.

The shifting of several TPP economies to RCEP indicates strong disappointment and frustration as TPP would not be useful without the presence of the United States, he added.

"These countries are now seeking alternative options to safeguard their free trade agenda. RCEP is seen as another possible alternative of TPP. Even though RCEP is deemed to have lower standard than TPP but at least it opens the way for freer trade," Siwage said.

The next RCEP negotiation round is scheduled in Kobe, Japan, February next year. Endit