2020 GDP of Selected Regional Free Trade Blocs

Last year, 15 countries formed what is now the world’s largest trading bloc. The United States is not part of it. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) comprises Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

The biggest economic powerhouse in the pact is China, and the agreement has been viewed as a major expansion of Chinese influence in the global economy. 

The RCEP has a combined GDP of $26.2 trillion—bigger than the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) or the European Economic Area (EEA)—as the accompanying infographic shows.

This infographic should be a wake-up call to everyone concerned with global trade and international relations. Clearly, we should be pursuing policies that expand America’s global economic influence lest we allow China to become the dominant world power.

Currently, our free trade partnership list is too exclusive. American workers are not benefitting from providing products and services to businesses and consumers in fast-growing international economies as should be. American consumers are not benefitting as much as they should from global competition to provide the best products and services at the best prices. China is filling the need where America should be.

It is critical for the United States to be aggressive in pursuing international trade—and, specifically, free-trade agreements—with a long-term vision that benefits American workers and consumers.