Asia Trade Talks Chief Warns Against Turning Pact Into New TPP
- RCEP trade chief optimistic pact can be mostly done this year
- Says parties shouldn’t try and import parts of failed TPP pact
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The chief negotiator of a 16-nation Asia trade pact expressed hope that talks can be concluded this year if member nations refrain from introducing elements of a separate deal derailed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Iman Pambagyo, trade negotiating committee chief for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, said that governments had the political will to conclude the deal despite differences on goods and services, in part to send a message in the face of rising protectionism elsewhere. Only 10 percent of the text has been completed, he said.