The 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a multilateral agreement that would cover half the world's population, has reached a major turning point, delegates said Monday at the start of five days of negotiations.
The RCEP Kobe conference is the first round of negotiations this year and the first since U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was canceling America's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It comes as the very concept of multilateral treaties worldwide is under unprecedented public scrutiny amid growing concerns about the effect such treaties have on broader issues ranging from public health to human rights and the environment.
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