US-China Rivalry May Accelerate US CPTPP Accession Beyond Expectations

Assembly to Hold 2nd CPTPP Trade Forum on the 28th

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] There is a growing expectation that the United States' comprehensive and progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) accession could accelerate faster than anticipated due to the confrontation between the U.S. and China. In particular, since the CPTPP demands the highest level of liberalization scope and norms among trade agreements to date, the business community agrees that domestic companies need to prepare in advance.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announced on the 28th that it held the "2nd CPTPP Trade Forum" jointly with Kim & Chang law firm. This forum was organized to establish South Korea's CPTPP accession strategy by gathering expert opinions on the outlook of U.S. trade policy and discussing domestic acceptance of strengthened obligations and new trade norms upon accession.

Attendees at the meeting included Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice President of KCCI; Lee Jae-hoon, Advisor at Kim & Chang law firm; Kim Jeong-hoe, Director of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Park Tae-ho, former Head of Trade Negotiations; Professor Ahn Deok-geun of Seoul National University; Senior Research Fellow Jung Cheol of KIEP; and others from government, academia, research institutes, and business sectors. Jeffrey Schott, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), joined via video conference from Washington D.C.

Jeffrey Schott, who gave the first presentation, spoke on "The Biden Administration's Trade Policy Outlook and South Korea's CPTPP Accession Plan," asserting that "it is advantageous for South Korea to join the CPTPP quickly, which would also allow it to gain a competitive edge in future Korea-China-Japan FTAs."

Regarding U.S. trade policy, he said, "Although the Biden administration is currently focusing more on domestic issues than trade, making CPTPP accession within the term difficult, if U.S.-China tensions continue, the time may soon come for the U.S. to pursue economic cooperation with its allies. CPTPP accession would be a good way for the U.S. to establish a new economic cooperation framework with Asia-Pacific countries."

Shin Jeong-hoon, Kim & Chang Lawyer: “South Korea Operates 350 Public Institutions… Important to Address CPTPP State-Owned Enterprises Chapter”

Shin Jeong-hoon, a lawyer at Kim & Chang who gave the second presentation, stated, "The CPTPP State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) chapter introduces new concepts such as non-commercial assistance and commercial considerations, and its scope has expanded beyond goods to services. Since South Korea operates 350 public institutions, including 36 public enterprises, it is essential to carefully examine how the SOE chapter will affect public institution operations when considering CPTPP accession."

Shin emphasized, "The CPTPP adopts the agreement text agreed upon by existing member countries without negotiating the wording. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand the meaning of the agreement text in advance and reflect South Korea’s position if needed."

Kim Ba-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), who presented on the current status and challenges of manufacturing sector product concessions, said, "If South Korea participates in the CPTPP, it is necessary to analyze and review the market opening effects with Japan. Since faster and higher market liberalization than RCEP is expected, the pros and cons must be carefully considered, and gathering industry opinions is important for a more multifaceted review."

Meanwhile, experts attending the forum agreed that while South Korea’s CPTPP accession could benefit national interests, the agreement demands higher standards on liberalization scope, state-owned enterprises, and environmental issues compared to existing agreements, so thorough review and discussion are required before applying for accession.

Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice President of KCCI who chaired the meeting, said, "The CPTPP demands the highest level of liberalization scope and norms among trade agreements to date. Along with market opening effects, comprehensive and detailed reviews of new trade norms such as state-owned enterprises, environment, and intellectual property rights?which have not yet been examined?are necessary. It is important to proactively address issues that could burden the industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.