Thailand aims to conclude RCEP negotiations this year
Thailand aims to conclude negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and fully implement the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) for all 10 member countries by the end of this year.
A rice factory in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand aims to concludenegotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) andfully implement the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) for all 10 member countries bythe end of this year.
At a press briefing on the ASW in Songkhlaprovince, Director-General of the Thai Commerce Ministry’s Department of TradeNegotiations Auramon Supthaweethum said completing the RCEP talks by the end ofthis year is one of the ministry’s top economic priorities to counter the riseof protectionism around the world and mitigate negative impacts of the US-Chinatrade war.
She noted that when the negotiations areconcluded, the RCEP will be the largest multilateral trade pact in history,encompassing China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, NewZealand, and the 10 ASEAN nations.
The combined gross domestic product of the RCEPmembers accounts for up to 28 percent of the global GDP and 30 percent of theworld trade value, the official added.
This agreement consists of 20 chapters, seven ofwhich were completed last year. Thailand, which holds the ASEAN Chair in 2019,aims to conclude the remaining 13 chapters this year, ranging from trade ingoods and services, investment liberalisation, rules of origin, intellectualproperty regulations to e-commerce competition regulations.
This year, there are four rounds of negotiationsat the minister level, and another four at the director-general level, Auramonsaid.
Meanwhile, the ASW is another priority to makesure that all the 10 ASEAN members will use it by the end of this year. Itwill integrate the countries’ different single-window systems via electronicexchange of trade-related documents to expedite cargo clearance and boostcross-border trade.
Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, andIndonesia have implemented the ASW since the beginning of 2018.-VNA
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A rice factory in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
