Jakarta. A former Indonesian trade negotiator has cautioned against rushing the expansion of the RCEP trade deal, saying that businesses from ASEAN members have not really taken advantage of the tariff reductions.

ASEAN -- excluding newcomer Timor-Leste -- is part of the world’s largest trade deal: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It also binds China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia into a deal that will gradually get rid of over 90% of the tariffs on the goods traded among its members. Sri Lanka, Chile, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong have set sights on joining this four-year-old RCEP. 

Iman Pambagyo, who helmed Indonesia's negotiations for the RCEP, said Tuesday that discussions of accepting new members should take a back seat for now. Based on his recent conversations with people handling the accord, countries have been struggling to reach a consensus on who they should accept first.

“I doubt we should force the expansion. Let’s just focus on making sure that the RCEP brings bigger benefits for its members,” Iman, the former director-general for international trade, said on the margins of the Jakarta Globe Insight forum.

China and Japan mainly make up the RCEP’s utilization rate. Despite being the accord’s “core”, its use among the ASEAN exporters remains “incredibly underwhelming”.

“Indonesian [businesses] do take advantage of the RCEP, but its utilization rate is far from optimum. Let’s just put the accession talks at the back and prioritize what is really needed. I don’t think accession should be a priority at the moment. We must focus on making sure the existing 15 nations can truly benefit from this regional economic integration and not act in silos,” Iman said.

When Timor-Leste officially joined the group last year, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn confirmed that Dili would eventually “be part of every initiative”, including the RCEP. 

At home, Jakarta has noticed that many of its businesses have not fully reaped the benefits of not just the RCEP, but trade agreements in general. The government is now working on some administrative changes that will automatically provide exporters with the necessary paperwork needed to claim the tariff cuts.

ASEAN reported that its trade hit $3.8 trillion in 2024. Singapore represented 25% of the total merchandise trade that year, while Indonesia contributed roughly 13%. RCEP members account for around 30% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) and over a quarter of the world's exports.