RCEP vs. CPTPP: How Korea’s Trade Choices Will Reshape Supply Chains and Markets
📌 Changes in Trade Agreements and Free Trade Zones — The Present of RCEP·CPTPP and Korea’s Choices --- Introduction — Why Talk About Trade Agreements Again? In the 2020s, the global economy can be summed up by two big themes: “supply chains” and “bloc-ization.” There was a time when, under the banner of globalization, national borders seemed to fade and the free movement of goods and capital felt like the natural order. In the 1990s and 2000s, with the WTO system and the proliferation of FTAs (free trade agreements), many believed a “borderless trade era” had arrived. But the past decade has changed the picture completely. U.S.–China trade conflict: Since 2018, tit-for-tat tariffs effectively kicked off an “economic war.” The two countries have clashed across core manufacturing inputs—semiconductors, steel, rare earths—creating supply chain uncertainty for middle economies like Korea. COVID-19 pandemic: Logistics froze worldwide, elevating masks, vaccines, semiconductors, ...