Look. I'm not trying to start another pointless struggle session. Far from that, I want each and every one of us to confront this most strange attempt at multilateralism by two of our favourite existing socialisms.

There's no substantial article on the environment. Not a single word on climate or pollution. And nothing on labour issues.

I get that the whole thing is brand new and the member countries will probably amend to add more to the document in later stages.

But now is the point the heads of governments go back to their respective legislative body for ratification. Again, nothing on labour, the environment or the climate.

I want us Chapos to confront the likelihood that existing socialist experiments are faltering, even abandoning, a key promise of socialism to workers: reducing work hours for more leisure time. That, and no idea how trade is going to connect to the climate crisis.

  • ChavistaGang [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    This trade deal appears to be a bit overblown :

    1. What’s different about the RCEP? Unlike the TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership, and other U.S.-led trade deals, the RCEP doesn’t require its members to take steps to liberalize their economies and protect labor rights, environmental standards and intellectual property. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has called it a “very low-grade treaty” that lacks the scope of the TPP. But RCEP’s imminent implementation illustrates America’s diminished clout and could make it harder for U.S. businesses to compete in the vast region.

    From what I've read so far, the deal does not restrict government subsidies or state-owned enterprises, allows countries to retain key tariffs in protection of what they may deem as especially sensitive or critical industries, and also includes technology transfers to the least developed members like Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Unlike the TPP, it also does not include controversial investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms or limit government sponsorship of industries. RCEP has been criticized for being less protective of intellectual property rights and services that cross borders than other large trade deals. Sucks that it doesn't really include labor or environmental protections, but the deal overall does help undermine US influence in the region and shift us closer to a multipolar world order.