Asian nations push RCEP to counter trade war pangs
Asian countries have voiced concern about the potentially devastating impact of a US-China trade war, with ministers at a regional summit in Singapore on Saturday calling for the acceleration of talks for a Beijing-backed free-trade deal that excludes the US.
Some ministers have called for the early conclusion of talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a 16-nation pact poised to become the largest freetrade pact, covering about half the global population.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he hoped the RCEP pact would be complete by the end of the year, while Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan urged coun-tries facing “headwinds against free trade” to rally together.
Some ministers have called for the early conclusion of talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a 16-nation pact poised to become the largest freetrade pact, covering about half the global population.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he hoped the RCEP pact would be complete by the end of the year, while Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan urged coun-tries facing “headwinds against free trade” to rally together.