中주도 '세계 최대 FTA' RCEP 체결, 글로벌 무역 다변화 기대

RCEP does not include the United States, but it is expected to be a game changer for the Asia Pacific region.
And while it is expected to benefit South Korea's economy, which depends on exports, there are still some concerns.
Kim Sung-min reports.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a mega Asia-Pacific trade pact that accounts for a third of the world's economy,...is about to reshape the global trading system.
Throughout the past eight years, since the deal was first established, the pact's leaders have come to an agreement on building an open, inclusive and rules-based international trade order.
The pact unites the fifteen Asia-Pacific nations including the ten from ASEAN along with Japan, China, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea.
India decided not to join due to concerns of how it will impact its domestic economy but the member states have left the door open for future participation.
South Korea already has bilateral, free trade agreements with RCEP members except for Japan,...meaning there is sufficient accessibility to goods and services.
But the RCEP can further simplify the current trade customs and reduce costs.
"If China opens up its market further, certain exceptional clauses which China has been enforcing will be eradicated which would, in turn, benefit South Korea."
The deal could also help South Korea diversify regional value chains amid trade protectionism across the world... and uncertainties coming from the U.S.-China trade war.
A report released by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy suggests that the RCEP without India will expand the country's economy by up to point-five percent over the next ten years.
The country's consumer benefits are also expected to grow by five-point-five billion U.S. dollars.
However, there is the possibility that the RCEP would hit South Korea's agriculture and marine sectors...as it includes some of Seoul's competitors like agricultural powerhouse China.
Also, leaving the world's second-biggest economy, the U.S., out of the deal,... the China-led mega-pact could raise further concerns for South Korea in striking a balance between the two great economic powers.
Kim Sung-min, Arirang News