RCEP to help raise Asia-Pacific income by 0.6% by 2030: Report

14 Nov '22

2 min read

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The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will help raise Asia-Pacific income by nearly 0.6 per cent by 2030—close to $245 billion a year—and create 2.8 million jobs annually, according to a report, which said due to previous free trade agreements (FTAs) among many member countries, some commodities like textiles and garments have already benefited from low tariffs.

The report on RCEP’s impact on the shaping of supply chains in Vietnam was recently released by the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (NCIF) under the ministry of planning and investment and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Vietnam.

The RCEP will have many positive impacts on regional economies, NCIF deputy director Luong Van Khoi said citing the report.

The most important thing may be the harmonisation of rules of origin, which enables the accumulation of origin, creating many chances and benefits for intra-bloc exports, Khoi was quoted as saying by a news agency.

However, tariffs have been reduced for some goods whose supply chains Vietnam has engaged deeply into. These include textiles, garments, automobiles and some electronic products. The application of consistent rules of origin under the RCEP will help the country boost its participation in regional supply chains.

The shift of supply chains to Vietnam that has already been taking place thanks to bilateral FTAs or within the ASEAN Plus 6 framework will be further promoted by the RCEP. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are also expected to grow even more when major investors in the region are stepping up specialisation to develop supply chains, according to the report.

It also pointed out that the RCEP will provide opportunities for Vietnam to value add more to productivity by boosting market expansion, attracting investment to upstream manufacturing sectors, and enhance specialisation in the industries where Vietnam has strengths.

That will in turn attract more FDI under supply chains to the country and help domestic enterprises further engage in global chains, the report added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)

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