《TAIPEI TIMES》Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations to ink trade pact next year

SNUB FOR SNUB: Just three ASEAN leaders attended a meeting with US officials, where an invite from Trump for a summit in the US was read

/ Reuters and AP, BANGKOK

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Fifteen Asia-Pacific countries have concluded negotiations for a trade pact that would be among the world’s largest, but India still has “significant outstanding issues” before it is ready to sign on, the countries’ leaders said yesterday.

A summit of the leaders of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） left open the door for India to join if it can resolve issues before the deal is set to be signed next year.

India has balked at exposing its farmers and factories to more foreign competition, especially from China.

Fifteen of the 16 prospective RCEP states “have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters and essentially all their market access issues,” said the leaders’ statement, which included India.

“RCEP will significantly boost the region’s future growth prospects and contribute positively to the global economy,” the statement said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said there was a need to bring the global economy back on track, adding: “We are once again faced with the high winds of trade protectionism … we need to protect the free-trade order.”

The RCEP nations include the 10 ASEAN members, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand

Meanwhile, just three ASEAN leaders showed up yesterday for a meeting with US officials, after US President Donald Trump decided not to attend the summit in Bangkok.

Only Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and the leaders of Laos and Vietnam, along with several foreign ministers, attended.

Washington did not send top officials to the summit, just US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

Yesterday’s address from O’Brien stood in contrast to earlier ASEAN meetings, which had all been attended by most heads of state.

“It’s not appropriate for ASEAN to send leaders when the US representation is not on parity,” one diplomat said.

Another diplomat said: “It’s not a boycott, it’s just that other leaders have other meetings to attend to.”

In lieu of Trump’s physical presence, O’Brien read a letter from the president inviting “the leaders of ASEAN to join me in the United States for a special summit” at some point during the first three months of next year.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES