Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

"RCEP" redirects here. For other uses, see RCEP (disambiguation).

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
RCEP members
TypeFree trade agreement
Signed15 November 2020
LocationHanoi, Vietnam (virtual host)
Effective1 January 2022
Signatories15
Parties14
DepositarySecretary-General of ASEAN[1]
LanguageEnglish (lingua franca)[1]
Logo of the RCEP

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP /ˈɑːrsɛp/ AR-sep) is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific countries of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.[2] The 15 member countries account for about 30% of the world's population (2.2 billion people) and 30% of global GDP ($29.7 trillion), making it the largest trade bloc in history.[3] Signed in November 2020, RCEP is the first free trade agreement among the largest economies in Asia, including China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.[4]

The RCEP was conceived at the 2011 ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia, while negotiations formally launched during the 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.[5][6][7] India, which took part in the initial negotiations but later decided to opt out, was invited to join the bloc at any time. Any other country or separate customs territory in the region can accede to the pact from 1 July 2023 onward.[8][9][10] The treaty was formally signed on 15 November 2020 at the virtual ASEAN Summit hosted by Vietnam. For the first ten ratifying countries, the trade pact took effect on 1 January 2022.[11][12][13]

The RCEP includes a mix of high-,[note 1] middle-,[note 2] and low-income countries.[note 3] It is expected to eliminate about 90% of the tariffs on imports between its signatories within 20 years of coming into force, and establish common rules for e-commerce, trade, and intellectual property.[4] Several analysts predicted that it would offer significant economic gains for signatory states, boost post-pandemic economic recovery, as well as "pull the economic centre of gravity back towards Asia, with China poised to take the lead in writing trade rules for the region," leaving the United States behind in economic and political affairs in the region.[note 4] Reactions from others were neutral or negative,[note 5] with some analysts saying that the economic gains from the trade deal would be modest.[30][31][32][33]

  1. ^ a b "Final Provisions" (PDF). Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ "World Bank: RCEP Initiator is Indonesia, Not China". CNBC. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  3. ^ "India stays away from RCEP talks in Bali". Nikkei Asian Review. Jakarta. 4 February 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b "What is RCEP and what does an Indo-Pacific free-trade deal offer China?". South China Morning Post. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  5. ^ "A trade pact nearly 10 years in the making: 5 things to know about RCEP". The Straits Times. 15 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SCMP China declares victory as 15 nations sign was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "RCEP: Challenges and Opportunities for India, 25 July 2013, RSIS, Singapore" (PDF). rsis.edu.sg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Asia-Pacific nations sign world's largest trade pact RCEP". CNA. 15 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  9. ^ Ng, Charmaine (15 November 2020). "15 countries, including Singapore, sign RCEP, the world's largest trade pact". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  10. ^ "RCEP: Asia-Pacific nations sign world's biggest trade pact". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  11. ^ "The date of the entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Asia-Pacific's 15-member RCEP trade deal to take effect in January, Australia says". The Japan Times. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  13. ^ "World's largest free trade deal is under way, but what is RCEP?". South China Morning Post. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ^ "US being left behind after Asia forms world's biggest trade bloc RCEP: US Chamber". CNA. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Why the U.S. Could Be the Big Loser in the Huge RCEP Trade Deal Between China and 14 Other Countries". Time. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  16. ^ Petri, Peter A.; Plummer, Michael (16 November 2020). "RCEP: A new trade agreement that will shape global economics and politics". Brookings Institution. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference PIIE US Decouples was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference ADB contribution was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bangkok Post trade was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ "Indonesia Eyes Multiple Benefits from RCEP". Jakarta Globe. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  21. ^ "RCEP to enable local industries to enter global market". The Malaysian Reserve. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Korea_herald_moon_sign was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Korea_herald_firms_benefit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference EFF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference indi_India_decides was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc_What_is was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference taip_RCEP_not was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference fore_Cutting_Through was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference reut_RCEP_unlikely was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cnbc_A_coup was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference wsj._Asias_Huge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Mahadevan Nugroho pp. 3148–3167 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference hind_India_has was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference inte_RCEP_Has was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference reut_Fears_world's was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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