Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 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. The 15 member countries account for about 30% of the world's population and 30% of global GDP, making it the largest trade bloc in history. Signed in November 2020, RCEP is the first free trade agreement among the largest economies in Asia, including China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.
The RCEP was conceived at the 2011 ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia, while negotiations formally launched during the 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia. 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. 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.
The RCEP includes a mix of high-, middle-, and low-income countries. 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. 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. Reactions from others were neutral or negative, with some analysts saying that the economic gains from the trade deal would be modest.
Membership
Signatories
- All members of ASEAN :
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- RCEP is the first trade agreement to include all three East Asian members of ASEAN Plus Three:
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- The two Oceanian members of ASEAN Plus Six:
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| Flag | Country | Capital | Area | Population | Nominal GDP | GDP per cap. | PPP GDP | GDP per cap. | HDI | Currency | Official languages | Leaders |
| Australia Commonwealth of Australia | Canberra | 7,692,024 | 25,698,300 | 1,790,348 | 1,791,358 | Australian dollar | None English | Monarch: Charles III Governor-General: Sam Mostyn Prime Minister: Anthony Albanese | ||||
| Brunei Brunei Darussalam Negara Brunei Darussalam نڬارا بروني دارالسلام | Bandar Seri Begawan | 5,765 | 459,500 | 15,510 | 34,249 | Brunei dollar | Malay English | Monarch: Hassanal Bolkiah | ||||
| Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa Royaume du Cambodge | Phnom Penh | 181,035 | 15,626,444 | 45,150 | 142,392 | Cambodian riel | Khmer | Monarch: Norodom Sihamoni Prime Minister: Hun Manet | ||||
| China People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó | Beijing | 9,596,961 | 1,400,050,000 | 18,532,633 | 35,291,015 | Renminbi | Standard Chinese see also: Languages of China | General Secretary and President: Xi Jinping Premier: Li Qiang | ||||
| Indonesia Republic of Indonesia Republik Indonesia | Jakarta | 1,910,931 | 270,203,917 | 1,475,690 | 4,720,542 | Indonesian rupiah | Indonesian see also: Languages of Indonesia | President: Prabowo Subianto | ||||
| Japan 日本国 Nihon-koku | Tokyo | 377,930 | 126,760,000 | 4,110,452 | 6,720,962 | Japanese yen | None Japanese | Monarch: Naruhito Prime Minister: Sanae Takaichi | ||||
| Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao République démocratique populaire lao | Vientiane | 236,800 | 7,123,205 | 15,190 | 78,713 | Lao kip | Lao French | General Secretary and President: Thongloun Sisoulith Prime Minister: Sonexay Siphandone | ||||
| Malaysia مليسيا | Kuala Lumpur Putrajaya | 330,803 | 32,273,000 | 445,519 | 1,305,942 | Malaysian ringgit | Malay | Monarch: Ibrahim Prime Minister: Anwar Ibrahim | ||||
| Myanmar Republic of the Union of Myanmar ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw | Naypyidaw | 676,578 | 54,836,000 | 68,006 | 283,572 | Burmese kyat | Burmese see also: Languages of Myanmar | President: Myint Swe Chairman of the State Administration Council and Prime Minister: Min Aung Hlaing | ||||
| New Zealand Aotearoa | Wellington | 270,467 | 4,786,710 | 257,626 | 285,582 | New Zealand dollar | English Māori NZ Sign Language | Monarch: Charles III Governor-General: Cindy Kiro Prime Minister: Christopher Luxon | ||||
| Philippines Republic of the Philippines Republika ng Pilipinas | Manila | 300,000 | 109,048,269 | 471,516 | 1,391,800 | Philippine peso | English Filipino see also: Languages of the Philippines | President: Bongbong Marcos | ||||
| Singapore Republic of Singapore Republik Singapura 新加坡共和國 Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó சிங்கப்பூர் குடியரசு Ciṅkappūr Kuṭiyaracu | Singapore | 780 | 5,453,600 | 525,230 | 794,179 | Singapore dollar | English Malay Standard Chinese Tamil | President: Tharman Shanmugaratnam Prime Minister: Lawrence Wong | ||||
| South Korea Republic of Korea 대한민국 大韓民國 Daehan Minguk | Seoul | 100,210 | 51,709,098 | 1,760,947 | 3,057,995 | South Korean won | Korean Korean Sign Language | President: Lee Jae-myung Prime Minister: Kim Min-seok | ||||
| Thailand Kingdom of Thailand ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha-anachak Thai | Bangkok | 513,120 | 68,298,000 | 548,890 | 1,644,322 | Thai baht | Thai | Monarch: Maha Vajiralongkorn Prime Minister: Anutin Charnvirakul | ||||
| Vietnam Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam | Hanoi | 331,699 | 96,208,984 | 465,814 | 1,558,898 | Vietnamese đồng | Vietnamese | General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam: Tô Lâm President: Lương Cường Prime Minister: Phạm Minh Chính |
Ratifications
Applicants
The trade agreement is open for new members 18 months after the partnership came into force. The following countries have applied for accession into the partnership:- : The Republic of Chile has formally requested accession to the RCEP. Claudia Sanhueza, Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, delivered the request letter to Satvinder Singh, Assistant Secretary General for the ASEAN Economic Community.
The following countries have been subject to media attention surrounding their potential involvement in the RCEP:
- : The British Foreign Affairs Committee urged the UK Government to assess membership of the RCEP, as part of the UK's "Indo-Pacific tilt".
Contents
The RCEP contains 20 chapters discussing trade within many sectors, including :
- Goods and services
- Investment
- Government Procurement
- Standards and Technical Regulations
- Intellectual Property Rights
- E-Commerce
Under the RCEP there is a high level of protection within the agricultural sectors. Crops and meat products experience the highest level of protection, especially when compared to global trade dynamics outside of the RCEP. Although agriculture will still experience high levels of protection, the RCEP will have significant contributions, with a current tariff reduction of 12.8 percent occurring within 8.4% of agricultural products.
Within the manufacturing sector, motor vehicles, apparel and leather, non metallic minerals, and textiles experience the highest levels of tariff protection. Conversely, extractive products and natural resources will experience little to no protection, facing zero or near zero tariff rates.
The RCEP is not as comprehensive as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, another free trade agreement in the region that includes some of the same countries. The RCEP "does not establish unified standards on labour and the environment, or commit countries to open services and other vulnerable areas of their economies."
The tariffs schedule just for Japan is 1,334 pages long.