US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that his predecessor Barack Obama pioneered may comfort India and pave the way for a more balanced outcome of the ongoing trade negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). TPP is a trade agreement under negotiation among 12 nations: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam, which together account for 40% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). RCEP comprises the 10 economies of the Asian region (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and six of its free-trade partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea).The grouping envisages regional economic integration, leading to the creation of the largest regional trading bloc in the world, accounting for nearly 45% of the world’s population and with a combined gross domestic product of $21.3 trillion. The regional economic pact aims to cover trade in goods and services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property.

(Live Mint)