TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi pushes RCEP negotiations
Change Size
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo attends the ASEAN Summit in Singapore on Nov. 14 (Antara/Bayu Prasetyo)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has encouraged participating countries of the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) to settle differences to help boost economic cooperation in the region that hosts 48 percent of the global population.
The President said in Singapore on Wednesday that the trade war between China and the United States had triggered protectionism, with countries issuing antidumping duties, countervailing duties and other safeguard policies.
“With such a condition, it is important to immediately complete RECP negotiations,” said Jokowi in Singapore as quoted by kontan.co.id. The President is in the country to attend the 33rd ASEAN Summit.
He called on negotiators to immediately return to the negotiation table to complete the long process of establishing the economic cooperation.
“As a coordinator of RCEP negotiations, I assess that we are at the point of no return. What we have achieved should become capital to complete RCEP negotiations so that the fruits of economic integration can be enjoyed by our 3.4 billion people,” he added.
The RCEP involves 10 ASEAN member countries, plus China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Once an agreement is reached, the RCEP will also cover 38 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent of trade.
Previously, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said RCEP negotiators had been unable to reach an agreement on the issue of fair competition, failing to meet a deadline set during the 2017 RCEP Summit in the Philippines. He said Japan was the only country that had not agreed with the specific chapter in the document. (bbn)
https://nasional.kontan.co.id/news/jokowi-mendorong-pembahasan-rcep
