There is no denying that 2020 has been the year of global challenges. 46 days (yes, we are keeping count) before we wish good riddance to a year that has seen most social and business events, agreements and plans gone online, postponed or unswervingly cancelled, a ground-breaking trade deal has been signed that will positively impact the language industry.
It is highly unlikely, but if you have no clue what we are writing about, on November 15th the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP for short, signed a historical trade pact which involves 15 nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The countries which have signed the agreement are the 10 nations that form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), along with the non-ASEAN nations of Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Why is this so relevant for the translation and localization industry? Well, the Asia-Pacific region covers about 30% of the world’s population and this is the largest free trade agreement ever signed in history, involving a combined gross domestic product (GDP) worth $26.2 trillion. This pact that allows dropping tariffs drastically will boost global international trade more than ever. Along with the exchange of materials and goods comes the exchange of information and international discussion.
Then, how are language companies and professionals essential in this deal? You have probably guessed, speakers of more than 15 different languages including many variants of English and Chinese, as well as Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Malay, Khmer, Indonesian, Lao, Burmese, Tamil, Filipino, and their respective sign languages will be involved in daily exchanges and conversations emerging from this pact.
An exponential growth in the amount of content to be translated as well as a foreseeable need for interpretation in the trade, manufacturing, legal, technical, and automotive sectors are coming down the road alongside this historical pact. Are you ready to translate, interpret and localize for the Asia-Pacific nations? We are.
Master Translations – Premium Asian language services provider
