Alternative to TPP shows no sign of activity: analysts
While Prime Minister Hun Sen has publicly expressed his distaste for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was dealt a critical blow by US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the agreement, economists say there has been little visible progress in cementing a rival multilateral free trade agreement that puts China and ASEAN in leading roles. While Cambodia was never included in the TPP’s 12 signatory Pacific Rim nations, it is included in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a more inclusive and less-stringent 16-nation Asia-Pacific free trade agreement that counts all 10 ASEAN countries as members, as well as China, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Speaking during the opening session of the Fifth China Round Table on WTO Accession in Siem Reap on Monday – a three-day conference aimed at discussing best practices for least-developed countries to join the WTO – the premier reiterated his opposition to the floundering TPP.
