MOSCOW, Nov 17 — The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement will open new opportunities for Russian enterprises, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporter in Moscow.
The agreement was signed on Sunday by 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and five trade partners, namely Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.
It is the largest trade pact in the world, which covers a market of 2.2 billion people, or a third of the global population, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$26.2 trillion (RM107.5 trillion), or about 30 per cent of the world’s GDP, and accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the global trade.
RCEP will offer opportunities for Russian enterprises that have representatives in Vietnam to access new markets once it enters into force, said Ilyichev.
The Russian Ministry of Economic Development is studying the text of the trade deal to provide recommendations for domestic businesses, he added.
As a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Russia has a free trade agreement with Vietnam which took effect in October 2016.
On the same note, RCEP is also is expected to open the door for Czech enterprises to enter the world’s largest free trade area, reported VNA according to Czech experts.
Miroslav Diro, the spokesperson of the Czech chamber of commerce, said countries having clinched free trade agreements with the Czech Republic like Vietnam and South Korea can become a gateway for Czech enterprises to reach to the markets of 15 RCEP countries.
Meanwhile, Štěpán Hájek, an analyst of Purple Trading, said removing trade tariffs under the trade deal is a good sign for the Czech Republic’s open economy, particularly when the country is facing pressure from increasing protectionism.
He described the agreement as another advancement of the globalisation process, which is being threatened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luděk Procházka, Managing Director of Gerlach — the largest customs service provider in the Czech Republic, believed that European firms, including those in the Czech Republic, will see an increasing number of orders from RCEP member states.
— Bernama
