Asean+6 set to launch world's biggest free-trade market

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Asean and six Asian leaders will this November announce the official establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will make it the biggest free-trade market on the globe.

"The leaders should come up with a formal statement to form the RCEP. The negotiations are expected to start early next year in order to wrap up the pact by 2015, just in time for the full implementation of the Asean Economic Community," Somkiat Triratpan, deputy director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said last week.

The leaders from 16 countries will mainly discuss the RCEP or Asean+6 free-trade agreement amid concerns over slowing global economic growth, he said.

The announcement is scheduled to be made during the Asean Leaders Summit in Cambodia from November 15-20. The RCEP will gather up the free-trade agreements between Asean and the six partner nations and then draw up further agreements to open up more trade, services and investment among the member states.

The RCEP countries will commit to liberalising almost 100 per cent of trade among them following many effective bilateral free-trade pacts between Asean and its partners. However, there is still a degree of protectionism for sensitive goods of some countries such as rice.

The region may also move slowly on freeing service and investment under the RCEP due to development disparity among the economies, so RCEP countries have to continue integrating to eliminate the barriers to opening up service and investment more deeply.

Asean countries and the private sector envision the RCEP as paving the way for stimulating the Asian economy and helping to balance expansion between Eastern and Western countries. The pact worth US$17 trillion (Bt522.49 trillion) in trade will also offset the power of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which is gathering nine trade members in Asia-Pacific.

The RCEP will also act as an important stepping stone to achieving the Free-Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific before 2020.

Asean groups 10 countries in Southeast Asia. The six partner countries are China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The other Asean countries and six partners together account for 56 per cent or $255 billion of Thailand's total trade. If this regional free-trade pact is successfully concluded, Thailand will be able to increase trade with those countries significantly, he added.

According to the Thailand Development Research Institute and the department's study, the RCEP will help boost the Thai economy by 4.03 per cent. Local products that stand to benefit the most are processed fruits and vegetables, electrical appliances and electronic goods, automobile parts, rubber and plastic.

-- The Nation 2012-10-22

The Thai custom department must be furious about this, they will lose a large chunk of the bribes fees they that now collects from importers.

Will it apply to Beer Lao, not on past experience, and of course rice will continue to be an exception, mustn't upset the gravy-train !

I foresee a sudden lack-of-enthusiasm, as the cold wind of competition begins to blow, and those countries which are less-efficient or loaded-down with excessive-corruption become exposed.

Hub of cheap-labourers, anyone ?

And this will benefit whom?

FTA or not, Thailand still finds ways to excessively tax imported goods.

Edited October 22, 201213 yr by madmitch

almost 100 per cent

Then it's NOT a free trade area? (Maybe they couldn't be bothered to check a dictionary for the definition).

And this will benefit whom?

It's not obvious? Asia. They are encouraging trade and business between themselves as opposed to buying / importing / exporting from/to countries outside the pact.

FTA or not, Thailand still finds ways to excessively tax imported goods.

Taxes on goods not coming from countries part of the ASEAN pact will likely increase.to make up for the "loss".

"According to the Thailand Development Research Institute and the department's study, the RCEP will help boost the Thai economy by 4.03 per cent"

they should go back and check their working out, I make it a boost of 4.04 %

And this will benefit whom?

It's not obvious? Asia. They are encouraging trade and business between themselves as opposed to buying / importing / exporting from/to countries outside the pact.

FTA or not, Thailand still finds ways to excessively tax imported goods.

Taxes on goods not coming from countries part of the ASEAN pact will likely increase.to make up for the "loss".

Thailand already has an FTA with Australia (one of the "+6"). Fat lot of good that does.

Looking forward to new beers to drink!

Looking forward to new beers to drink!

... you're going to get a bit thirsty while you're waiting.

free trade and thailand

555

so no more 307% import taxes on a descent car ???

What is the import duty on Korean noodles? More than 307% methinks. Korean noodles (a vastly better product) about 63 baht a packet. Thai noodles about 12 baht a pack. Think that is going to change? Not likely

free trade and thailand

555

so no more 307% import taxes on a descent car ???

No old chap it will go down to at least 210%

free trade and thailand

555

so no more 307% import taxes on a descent car ???

Actually I just browsed the wiki page for NAFTA. It sounds like free trade really just means, "more open trade". So it looks like whoever has the most negotiating power can have restrictions put in place for certain goods. I guess we will just have to wait and see. This should come as a benefit to the consumer in most ASEAN countries. (I don't see this as much of a benefit to the wealthier ASEAN+6 consumers in countries like Japan and Korea)

The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers to trade and investment between the US, Canada and Mexico. The implementation of NAFTA on January 1, 1994 brought the immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one-half of Mexico's exports to the U.S. and more than one-third of U.S. exports to Mexico. Within 10 years of the implementation of the agreement, all US-Mexico tariffs would be eliminated except for some U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico that were to be phased out within 15 years. Most U.S.-Canada trade was already duty free. NAFTA also seeks to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers and to protect the intellectual property right of the products.

Edited October 23, 201213 yr by IsaanUSA

And this will benefit whom?

3 Billion Asian people....

Personally I do not know how things will be in 2015. Do they not know what happens in Europe? A research at a Thai university had shown that many people of the nine other ASEAN member countries will come to Thailand, but not too many Thais will go abroad.

But we're not talking about the ordinary folks. LOS=

I'm just wondering where all the thieves, Kamois and Scammers will go to, when no more visa is needed? ( beside those who're already here)