On 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was formally signed. The trade agreement was signed by 11 countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam – making it the third largest free trade area in the world by gross domestic product (GDP) after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and European Single Market.

2018 was a great year for Vietnam’s economy.The country’s business environment grew tremendously at the start of the year with over 26,000 new enterprises established. In addition to that, the government there highlighted that foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement reached over US$3.8 billion in the first three months of the year, up 7.2 percent from 2017.

Negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are now at a “critical stage” with a conclusion “finally in sight,” Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said last weekend.

When former president of the United States (US), Barack Obama mooted the idea of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo in 2015, the latter opted for a ‘wait and see’ approach. He expressed his opinion to the architect of the “Pivot to Asia” that the largest economy in Southeast Asia will only join upon the ratification and implementation of the deal by all its current members.

Despite the United States withdrawing from the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement), ASEAN countries will still largely benefit from the revamped version of the agreement. Now known as the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’ (CPTPP), the remaining 11 participating countries will include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.