In show to Trump, Asia talks of free trade. So far, it’s all still talk

Asian leaders are claiming ‘significant progress’ on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

But experts say the optimistic language is just for the US president’s ears and that it masks deeper problems

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Ministers from 16 Asia-Pacific countries pose ahead of a meeting on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade pact in Singapore. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 11:19am, 14 Nov 2018Updated: 4:48pm, 15 Nov 2018

Political leaders in Asia have this week been exhorting the merits of free trade as the region comes under tremendous strain from the US-China trade war – a dispute largely fuelled by Donald Trump’s dim view of open global markets.

But a meeting of minds is proving difficult even among free trade proponents, as a statement later on Wednesday by the leaders of the 16 countries taking part in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact will show.

Meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Singapore, the 16 leaders will say in a joint communique they have made “significant progress” on the free trade agreement, a major step down from earlier expectations that they would claim a “substantial conclusion” of the deal.

While the previous target was for the pact to be concluded by December, the new target will be to conclude talks by the end of next year.

Still, the leaders will emphasise the importance of a speedy conclusion of the pact, citing the current headwinds facing global trade, a source directly involved in negotiations told This Week in Asia.

The statement will be the most significant yet to come out of this week’s flurry of Asian diplomacy, which will continue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Papua New Guinea on Sunday.

Despite the communique’s upbeat note, the 2019 deadline runs contrary to earlier claims by some leaders in RCEP countries that a conclusion by December was achievable.

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