Trade war will not affect RCEP: ASEAN Secretary-General
Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Lim Jock Hoi has expressed his confidence that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be completed in principle before Thailand’s chairmanship ends at the end of this year.
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He added that against the backdrop of trade tension and uncertainties in the global market, ASEAN is still determined to complete the RCEP negotiations.
The bloc needs to take a pragmatic approach, he said, adding that with the significant progress in the recent negotiation round in Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang, ASEAN should do all it can to resolve and finalise the negotiations in 2019.
The latest round of the RCEP negotiation in Da Nang last month was fruitful, with negotiations on 13 out of the 20 chapters in the free trade agreement concluded.
