S. Korea launches process to join CPTPP: finance minister

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea began the process to join a mega Asia-Pacific free trade agreement involving 11 nations, the finance minister said Monday, as the country seeks to diversify its export portfolio. South Korea has been "actively" reviewing the joining of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as part of its efforts to expand mega FTAs in the Asia-Pacific region. "The government is trying to collect public opinions and social discussions on the CPTPP accession," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told a government meeting. The CPTPP is the renegotiated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) led by the former U.S. President Barack Obama administration. In 2017, then U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the TPP, widely seen as a key counterweight to China's growing economic clout. The CPTPP, launched in December 2018, has been signed by 11 countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico. Seoul's push came three months after China submitted an application to accede to the CPTPP in a surprising move and Taiwan followed suit. Trade volume by the 11 nations participating in the CPTTP had reached US$5.7 trillion as of 2019, accounting for 15.2 percent of the total global trade amount, according to a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economies & Trade. sooyeon@yna.co.kr (END)