Chairman Kobayashi’s Comments on the Signing of the RCEP Agreement

November 15, 2020

I warmly welcome the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. I would like to pay tribute to the representatives of the Japanese government and the governments of the other 14 countries who have dedicated themselves so tenaciously to building consensus over the eight years since negotiations began in November 2012.

I rate the agreement highly because it establishes a wide-reaching economic bloc encompassing around 30 percent of the world’s GDP and trade, and it facilitates free and fair trade and investment, as well as the formation of robust, efficient supply chains across the Asia region through measures such as reducing or eliminating tariffs, setting rules for e-commerce, and easing restrictions on foreign investment. I believe that it is also extremely significant for Japan that we have, for the first time, entered into an economic partnership agreement with China and South Korea, our key trading partners.

I hope the RCEP agreement will come into effect soon, and look forward to continued, persistent efforts on the part of the Japanese government to appeal to India, whose participation in the agreement would be desirable.