After more than 6 years of negotiations, a group of 15 Asia-Pacific countries is going to sign the the world’s largest trade agreement in 2020. The deal is called Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and it will involve all 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc and five of its major trading partners: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The United States are not to be the joiner to the RCEP. Initially India planned to join the mega-deal, but later decided to abstain from participation in trade pact over concerns that it would hurt domestic producers. In any case, the 15 member-countries make up close to one-third of the world population and global gross domestic product. So, the uniting within the RCEP would boost trade throughout the group by reducing tariffs, standardizing customs rules and procedures and expanding market access, especially among countries that have not concluded trade agreements.
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