REGIONAL Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members renewed their commitment to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO) and uphold a rules-based multilateral trading system as repeated trade disruptions test the global and regional framework for commerce and investment.
The commitment was made at the fifth Rcep Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, where trade ministers from the 15 participating economies also reaffirmed their pledge to avoid measures inconsistent with Rcep obligations.
In a joint media statement, the ministers said they remain committed to an open, free and fair multilateral trading system ‘with the World Trade Organization [WTO] at its core,’ including efforts to remove unnecessary trade barriers and improve investment facilitation.
New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade committee member Shane Reti said repeated trading disruptions over the past year have tested the resilience of the global and regional rules-based trading system.
‘As the world’s largest FTA [Free Trade Agreement] bringing together the economies in our region, Rcep is well positioned to unite us, and in doing so, can strengthen regional economic integration and support our collective resilience,’ Reti said during the ministerial meeting.
For her part, Indonesia Vice Minister of Trade Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri said trade among Rcep economies reached around $5.6 trillion in 2024, while the bloc collectively accounted for about 30 percent of global gross domestic product.
The meeting comes as members prepare for the first general review of the Rcep agreement in 2027, with initial work on the review already under way.
The ministers tasked the Rcep Joint committee with preparing a joint scoping paper that will identify the possible areas and elements of the upgrade.
The review could include provisions covering modern and emerging issues, with the aim of keeping the agreement relevant to changes in the global economy.
The ministers are also expected to endorse the scoping paper and formally launch the Rcep upgrade at next year’s ministerial meeting.
Further, they approved the creation of an ad hoc Accession Working Group to advance the accession process for Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, China, and Sri Lanka. They also noted Uruguay’s expression of interest in joining the agreement last February.
The agreement remains open to new members, subject to its accession rules.
The 15 Rcep economies are the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members plus Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. The agreement covers roughly 30 percent of global gross domestic product and is the world’s largest free trade agreement by participating economies.