ABSTRACT
Negotiations are quietly proceeding in Asia on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) amid a turbulent global trade policy landscape. Concerns about failing sectors and unemployment has made liberalization of trade unfashionable in the post-global financial crisis era. The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s Doha Round has effectively come to an end after years of negotiations. A more isolationist USA has left the ambitious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and is renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The UK’s decision to leave the European Union (known as Brexit) has made EU trade policy uncertain and provides impetus for deglobalization.
