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RCEP pact to spur recovery from pandemic: Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, presides over the 2nd virtual public hearing on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement Friday, November 5, 2021. RCEP is a new agreement between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and Republic of Korea). The pact aims to make products and services available to the 16-member countries and is expected to eliminate a range of tariffs on imports within 20 years. Negotiations among RCEP members will focus on trade in goods and services, intellectual property, dispute settlement, e-commerce, small and medium enterprises, and economic cooperation. Leaders of the 16 countries hope the pact will help spur recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, Pimentel said both the private and public sectors could guide the committee on its concurrence to the ratification of the RCEP agreement by the President. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)