Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) To Raise S.Korea's Economic Growth If Effective

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega regional trade agreement, if it comes into effect, would raise South Korea's economic growth by as high as 0.62 percent, a local economic think tank said Tuesday

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Nov, 2019 ) :The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega regional trade agreement, if it comes into effect, would raise South Korea's economic growth by as high as 0.62 percent, a local economic think tank said Tuesday.

If the RCEP comes into force, the economic growth of South Korea would be lifted by a range of 0.41-0.62 percent over a 10-year period due to the goods tariff reduction, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) said in a report.

South Korean consumers would enjoy a range of 4.2-6.8 billion U.S. Dollars in benefit from the RCEP enforcement, the report said.

Given the additional liberalization of the services sector and other non-tariff reductions, the mega trade deal would have a greater economic impact on South Korea, which heavily depends on export for growth, the think tank noted.

Fifteen out of the 16 RCEP participating countries concluded text-based negotiations and essentially all market access issues earlier this month in Bangkok, Thailand with an aim to sign the mega free-trade pact in 2020.

Initiated in 2012, the RCEP brought together 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their six trade partners in the region, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.