China, Japan, and South Korea, the three largest economies in Asia, launched negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in 2013. As of January 2022, a total of 16 rounds of negotiations between the three parties have been held, though without substantial progress.
Recently, with the first FTA covering all three countries – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – entering into force, the China-Japan-South Korea FTA (CJK FTA) has again gained attention. Is RCEP able to accelerate the negotiation process of the CJK FTA? To answer that question, we first must examine the factors behind the nearly decade-long deadlock in negotiations.
Current Stumbling Blocks
The stagnant progress on the CJK FTA can be attributed to three factors. First, opposition from domestic economic sectors likely to suffer from the agreement, particularly agriculture,…
