APD | RCEP to help boost South Korea’s economy

By APD writer Alice

The realisation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is projected to give a boost to South Korea's economic growth, according to a report by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).

The agreement involves ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members and its dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was reached at a summit in Bangkok early this month.

Once it is formally signed in 2020, the deal will create a mega economic bloc that accounts for half of the global population and one-third of the world's gross domestic product.

The report said the implementation of the trade pact will add 0.41-0.62 percent to South Korea's economic growth in the next decade by reducing tariffs.

The RCEP's overall impact on the South Korean economy will be greater should eased non-tariff barriers be taken into account, it added.

The agreement is also likely to hasten South Korea to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan and help Seoul upgrade its FTAs with ASEAN member states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)