AS TRUMP KILLS THE TPP, CAN CHINA-BACKED RCEP FILL THE GAP?

[FarCenter]

But leading trade experts are urging governments in trade-hungry Asia-Pacific nations from Singapore to Vietnam to quickly end their hand-wringing over the wasted effort, and instead conclude alternative deals without the US and its new protectionist leader.

Emerging at the top of the alphabet soup of potential trade pacts is the pan-Asian Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which excludes the US and until recently played second fiddle to the soon-to-be-killed Pacific Rim pact.

Experts say the RCEP can now be the centrepiece of 21st century free trade, a title they previously bestowed on the TPP.

Long seen as a project led by Beijing to counter the US-backed TPP, the RCEP involves the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and six countries with which the bloc has existing free trade pacts: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The pact, first mooted in 2011, will span territories that are home to 3.5 billion people and have a combined gross domestic product of US$22.6 trillion.

China denies it is spearheading the RCEP from behind the scenes, claiming it is an Asean-led effort.

In December, Chinese officials and some countries negotiating the RCEP signalled their intent to finalise the pact by the end of this year.

http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2060041/trump-kills-tpp-can-china-backed-rcep-fill-gap

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Comprehensive_Economic_Partnership

[longship]

1. Depends on Drumpf's position on Taiwan.

And the South China Sea.

And the use of nuclear weapons.

Oh dear!