Asia-Pacific nations sign world’s biggest trade pact

[Febo]

China and 14 other countries have agreed to form the world’s largest free trade bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity.  Without USA, EU or Russia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/15/rcep-15-asia-pacific-nations-set-worlds-biggest-trade-pact

One third of worlds economy can work on their own by itself. If we add influence they have over Africa, this is by far strongest free trade bloc that will be almost impossible to challenge in the future.  

[Fortify]

Trade is good in whatever form it takes, countries that are intertwined in such activity are much less likely to bother with wasteful things like war. Forget the petty Americas/Europe/Asia/Africa competition - we should all be working together for a brighter future. If people put as much effort and creativity into technology as they do into killing people, we might be travelling around space in star ships already and everyone could have their own planet to screw up. The world is running out of resources and the ability for species to survive will get much harder in future as the climate heats up. Rivalry is a waste of time, so as long as this trade deal is fair and built to accommodate population proportions it is a great deal for everyone.

[HabBear]

Sounds like great news! Free trade is good for everyone and trade pacts like this lower tariffs and keep the cost of goods cheaper for consumers. The negative impacts could be for producers in specific industries as lowering barriers to imports increase competition in a country, but while this may be a challenge for a few producers it's a win for the population at large.

[Lucius]

It is natural for neighboring countries to organize into such alliances, and given the US-initiated trade war with China, it is clear that business opportunities must be sought in other parts of the world - and neighbors are the logical solution. Free trade is, of course, in the interest of the whole world, and given that we have a new US president, it may be realistic to expect some changes in terms of US relations with China. If that happens, I have no doubt that the EU will not go in that direction either, because the US administration has put a lot of pressure on EU members to reduce their cooperation with China (especially with regard to building a 5G network - Huawei).

What this pact lacks is the participation of India which seems to have become the largest US vassal in Asia, they have literally copied all US moves towards China, but in the long run it will only be their loss.

[DapanasFruit]

This is a big good news but this is not really that new because many of these countries already have trade pacts as members of the ASEAN cohesion. Unlike what EU is doing right now, unity of these Asian markets is more of a voluntary kind of thing and there is no body imposing laws and regulations. The most important thing is the free flows of goods and services at a higher level never seen before. With China pushing its big influence in this region, this is something to look forward to.

[Vishnu.Reang]

Free market is the way to go and this trade deal is a very important step in that direction. Disappointed that my country (India) refused to join this trade group. The government here wants to help the local manufacturers, who are unable to compete with the foreign players. But in the end, the consumers lose out, as they have to content with low quality and overpriced products.

[nomenclatur]

China and 14 other countries have agreed to form the world’s largest free trade bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity.  Without USA, EU or Russia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/15/rcep-15-asia-pacific-nations-set-worlds-biggest-trade-pact

One third of worlds economy can work on their own by itself. If we add influence they have over Africa, this is by far strongest free trade bloc that will be almost impossible to challenge in the future.  

whether this step will really be able to lift the economies of all Asian countries if all Asian countries unite to restore all economies in the near future will that be possible I am so looking forward to this development will everything be able to make it normal and all prices and necessities will be cheaper I am very waiting for all of this.

[oHnK]

The free trade alliance that China has made with 14 countries is indeed a common thing, China will continue to build other economic alliances with many countries in order to continue to develop its power in the economic field.  In fact, we all know that only China is capable of printing state revenue up to double digits.  China also controls trade in the world so this policy will continue to have an impact on China's power itself.  When viewed for the other 14 countries, this policy is a challenge, because they must be able to compete with Chinese goods themselves.

[slapper]

Good news for the economy although I dont like China at all. This will help uniting many places and together, countries in Asia can developed and increase life standard

[cabron]

An economic partnership that will help each member will definitely what is needed to improve the lives of the people, this pandemic had already affected all countries in Asia. China seems to be the first that will unite Asia that will not leave anyone behind.

Asian countries are deprived and uniting is what is needed to support the growing population and every nation's population is growing exponentially, there is a need for industrialization and production of agricultural products.

[fiulpro]

China and 14 other countries have agreed to form the world’s largest free trade bloc, encompassing nearly a third of all economic activity.  Without USA, EU or Russia.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/11/15/rcep-15-asia-pacific-nations-set-worlds-biggest-trade-pact

One third of worlds economy can work on their own by itself. If we add influence they have over Africa, this is by far strongest free trade bloc that will be almost impossible to challenge in the future.  

Now the problem would be how favourable the conditions would be for everyone who are involved in the same. I do believe that if they are cutting of the influence of the big countries then it's going to be really good for the small and developing countries which are most of the times taken advantage of and thus this would help them to get justifiable exchange prices.

The free trade alliance that China has made with 14 countries is indeed a common thing, China will continue to build other economic alliances with many countries in order to continue to develop its power in the economic field.  In fact, we all know that only China is capable of printing state revenue up to double digits.  China also controls trade in the world so this policy will continue to have an impact on China's power itself.  When viewed for the other 14 countries, this policy is a challenge, because they must be able to compete with Chinese goods themselves.

But at the same people have started avoiding chinese goods because of their poor quality. Even some countries like India have started advertising campaigns like : Make in India and such.
Despite this China have the lowest priced goods .
But they also exploit the workers at the same time , pay them even lower than the minimum set wage.

The formation of this alliance cannot be separated from China's main goal of controlling 90% of world trade. This shows that the level of China's seriousness in controlling the market is really a consideration for the European Union, America and Russia. China makes alliances with Asian countries because these countries have a large debt to China. thus becoming a pretext for China to unite in full force. I think countries outside of China will not remain silent. there will be a big war in the crypto market.

They are even using debt to control the military power of these countries somehow. It's sad how they are trying to be the dictators of the whole world.

[Gozie51]

Without USA, EU or Russia.

This is the idea, trade. Trade seem like another big factor apart from military prowess to show a strength, popularity and cooperation between nations which can be good factors of world leaders or becoming a world power. China being at the front of this bloc, is showing to push US and allies out. The trade war is getting stronger indeed. But because the EU nations are not really involved then it may not a a large backup. The US also has a big work to do as they begin to work into a new administration.

[Fesatmas]

I think the agreement is very good, when China and countries in Asia agree to do a trade bloc. although I am not quite sure what China's ultimate aim is. if it controls a third of world trade, then I think developing countries will also come together to contribute and move closer to China and its allies. This shows that China's strength in the economy will be even stronger.

[sunsilk]

Many people don't like China. But this is for the good of the participating countries. The pact will create a lot of opportunities and better friendship for all of the countries that are part of this trade pact.

With Biden's awaited sit to the office, while the article says that he's unlikely to rejoin but I think there is a tendency that he will consider joining this trade pact soon just as Australia and New Zealand did.

[jacafbiz]

In theory this sound good but in practice all these small countries in the agreement/ pact are going to need to measure the impact on their economy, we all know that labour is cheap in some part of the world and manufacturing is also very well subsidize so it is easy for them to produce and dump their products in some countries because of free trade, what this does is that the manufacturing companies that some countries won't be competitive again and collapse creating unemployment and other secondary effect. I will like to see how this work out in medium term

[Hydrogen]

“RCEP will soon be ratified by signatory countries and take effect, contributing to the post-COVID pandemic economic recovery,” said Nguyen Xuan Phuc, prime minister of Vietnam, which hosted the ceremony as ASEAN chair.

RECP will take already low tariffs on trade between member countries still lower, over time.

....

The implication here appears to be.

• China and its allies will impose low tariffs on trade with no corona lockdowns (economic advantage)
• While USA, EU and much of the world impose corona lockdowns trading with higher tariffs (economic disadvantage)

Its a recipe which could alter the political economic landscape of the world significantly. Although not quite as black and white as it may appear on the surface.

If anything it shows how nations can adopt tax cuts and lower tariffs to become more economically competitive over time.

[tyz]

Trade is good in whatever form it takes, ....

That is a very one-sided view. It depends on the content of the trade agreement. A bad example of how trade also harms is the EU's agreement with some African countries. This includes that the EU opens its markets for African products (which by the way are mostly not competitive) and African countries must allow EU imports of highly subsidized milk (milk powder) and chicken meat which are so cheap that it is ruining the domestic African farming industry.

[inoes]

However, there is something missing about environmental protection and labor rights because they are not part of the RCEP agreement. In essence, the signing of this cooperation agreement is just the beginning. After that, the countries involved still have to make efforts to implement it. because It also requires political commitment at the highest level. Do not let this become a tool by a certain country to become a "champion" in international trade. read=China.

[Darker45]

Trade is good in whatever form it takes, ....

That is a very one-sided view. It depends on the content of the trade agreement. A bad example of how trade also harms is the EU's agreement with some African countries. This includes that the EU opens its markets for African products (which by the way are mostly not competitive) and African countries must allow EU imports of highly subsidized milk (milk powder) and chicken meat which are so cheap that it is ruining the domestic African farming industry.

This! This is the downside of trade agreements. And always, the powerful country will benefit more. This looks grand and truly beneficial from a distance. It may not necessarily be the case on the ground.

Huge capitalists which are close partners with governments will surely reap the benefits. Whereas poor crop and vegetable farmers and livestock and poultry growers, for example, will be left biting the dust.

Countless of times, a lot of my farmer countrymen are left with no choice but to throw away fresh agricultural produce and refrain from harvesting the rest because cheap imported goods are overflowing the market.

[wack slacker]

Trade agreements in Asia Pacific countries benefit countries there especially Southeast Asia. Here there are potential economies such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore ... they are developing strongly in fields from food, food, consumer goods, high technology. This is a region with high solidarity when ASEAN has peacefully, stably settled regional issues and has effective economic cooperation for many years. I am confident that their cooperation with the major economies will motivate developing regions of the world to learn to prosper like these nations.