Indonesia has officially applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, The Diplomat has reported. The next step will be for New Zealand, as the depository of the agreement, to officially acknowledge receipt of the request. It will then move to the CPTPP commission which will decide whether or not to commence accession procedures.
Of note, the Indonesian and Vietnamese economies are relatively similar. They are both export orientated and have developed quickly by providing abundant low-cost abundant labour to global manufacturing. As such, the two countries often compete for foreign direct investment projects. In this context, Indonesia’s accession to the agreement could chip away at Vietnam’s edge over its neighbour to the south.
See also: List of Vietnam’s Tree Trade Agreements