Will new Asia-Pacific pact force Biden's hand on trade?

RCEP signing ceremony.
(Image credit: NHAC NGUYEN/AFP via Getty Images))

Leaders from 15 Asia-Pacific nations on Sunday signed what analysts have said by some measures is the largest free trade agreement in history. The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations joined up with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea to cement the pact, which could add nearly $200 billion to the global economy by 2030, according to some estimates.

While The Financial Times described the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as a "fairly shallow agreement" that is not expected to lead to large overall tariff reductions, it's still considered a step toward making Asia a more coherent trading zone, akin to the European Union.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.