RCEP trade deal could boost Japan's GDP by $140bn

Tokyo, March 20 The Japanese government said that the domestic economy could be boosted by 15 trillion yen ($140 billion) thanks to a free trade deal (FTA) signed last year by 15 Asia-Pacific countries.

The government said on Friday that based on the country's real GDPin fiscal 2019, the expected economic effect of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will cover a third of global trade and population, could correspond to about a 2.7 per cent GDP increase, reports Xinhua news agency.

In the country's first publicised estimate on the impact of the trade deal, the government also expected some 570,000 jobs to be created.

The trade deal was signed last November and will see tariffs eliminated on 91 per cent of goods, with standardized rules pertaining to investment, intellectual property and e-commerce.

The RCEP groups the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

( With inputs from IANS )