Cambodia ranks 3rd in real income gains, export growth under RCEP trade pact by World Bank

Cambodia ranked third in real income gains and export growth under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, showed a recent research paper by the World Bank. Titled “Estimating the Economic and Distributional Impacts of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership”, the report said Cambodia came in third after Vietnam and Malaysia in terms of real income gains. “All participating countries benefit from the RCEP, although the gains are not distributed equally and depend on the trade policy changes,” the 46-page report said. “Considering the full scenario, with reductions in tariffs, non-tariff measures, and trade costs, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia benefit the most,” it added. In terms of export growth, the report said Cambodia was expected to experience an increase of 6.5 percent, with Vietnam at the highest growth of 11.4 percent and Japan at 8.9 percent. Signed on November 15, 2020 and entering into force on January 1, 2022, RCEP is a mega trade agreement among 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and its five free trade agreement partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP covers approximately 30 percent of the world’s population and accounts for about 30 percent of global gross domestic product. Cambodian Ministry of Commerce’s undersecretary of state and spokesman Penn Sovicheat said RCEP is a victory of multilateralism and free trade, and it will become the core foundation for trade and investment in the region. “This mega-free trade agreement will inject new impetus into regional and global economic growth in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era,” he told Xinhua. Sovicheat said the trade deal will provide tremendous opportunities and benefits to Cambodia in the long term and that it will facilitate trade and diversify exports of Cambodian products, especially agricultural products, to RCEP members. Xinhua This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources. Khmer Daily