The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a milestone achievement in the regional economic integration led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the last 3 decades. It was formed to mitigate the challenges of dealing with multiple free trade agreements. This report analyses and compares the legal text of RCEP, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and relevant agreements of the World Trade Organization. It offers a mix of policy recommendations and suggests road maps to orient RCEP toward successful implementation.

This publication compares the Product-Specific Rules of Origin (PSRO) of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with those of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). It contrasts the main rules of origin provisions of the three free trade agreements, then discusses differences and commonalities in how they were drafted. The study examines the stringency and leniency of RCEP PSRO relative to CPTPP and ATIGA and identifies where PSRO among the three are converging. Initial findings provide the basis for policy recommendations to help leverage RCEP to simplify rules of origin in Asia and the Pacific.

Efforts to use existing trade agreements to build a larger regional agreement face many challenges. This book considers this problem with reference to ASEAN’s current agreements with key partners and the interest to build the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The analysis of the options is framed by a focus on the use of supply chains in international business. Issues considered include those related to reductions in tariffs, trade facilitation, the treatment of investment and of services and the definition of rules of origin. The work is informed by case studies of supply chains in automobile and electronics, and in a professional service sector. The book provides a set of priority actions for better progress in taking a bottom-up approach to building RCEP.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) aims to achieve greater integration between the ASEAN region and its six free trade agreement (FTA) partners (India, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Korea). The RCEP is the only agreement to include three economies which are among the seven biggest economies of the world—China, Japan and India. The book opens with an introduction to the current status of economic integration and factors that would affect it and looks at key issues like non-tariff barriers, evolving investment regulations in China (in the context of FTAs), connectivity initiatives to integrate the region, rules of origin in the context of value chain integration in selected sectors as well as region-specific aspects of South Asia and South East Asia which would shape the regional economic architecture going forward. With an attempt to cover key imperatives, the book concludes by noting primary impediments to easier trade and investment flows in the region, highlighting possible policy recommendations to improve economic integration.

This book brings together international perspectives on free trade issues that affect civil society from the general populace to the governments of nations, and is relevant not only for lawyers, but also policymakers, international actors and businesses, as well as those with a general interest in free trade agreements. The book examines the manifestation of the concept of free trade in agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). It asks whether such agreements are entered into for the purposes of enhancing trading relationships between partner nations, strengthening commercial ties, and fostering economic growth; or are they sometimes used merely for local political outcomes of the most influential nations.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP) is a free-trade deal between 10 ASEAN member states and Australia,China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. It is the world's biggest regionaltrade deal, and it will create the world's most populous trade area. Thisedited collection features 10 contributions from multidisciplinary authors andis meant to share research and best practises on different aspects of the RCEP.It presents research projects that contribute to the discussion about the theory,lessons learned, and business strategies, to give a better understanding of theRCEP and how it can shape policy in member countries. The themes in eachchapter can also serve to evaluate reports on the RCEP's overall progress. Thebook covers a broad range of subjects, including an overview of the RCEP,digital economy, peer-to-peer lending, international e-commerce, big data, ICTreadiness and much more. This work is a key source of information and referencefor RCEP development for academics and researchers (in economics and politicalscience), government and trade organisations and policymakers interested in theRCEP. Members of the general public who want to understand debates surroundingthe RCEP will also benefit from the information provided.

Asia has witnessed a proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) since the turn of the millennium. The first regional agreement — the ASEAN FTA — was transformed into the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of 2015. In the meantime, ASEAN forged five ASEAN+1 FTAs and began to negotiate a sixteen-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement. In parallel, the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), supporting U.S. foreign policy of “Pivot to Asia”, was broadly agreed in October 2015. The RCEP and the TPP are accompanied by other mega-regional integration processes developing elsewhere in the world, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership for the European Union and the United States, and the Pacific Alliance among four Latin American member states. Meanwhile, APEC is also striving to meet its Bogor Goal targets and create a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. Each of these mega-regionals aims to achieve greater trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and more harmonized trade and investment rules so that all member economies can participate in the global value chain of production. Instead of undermining, these regional exercises can be building blocks for a more liberal global trading system supported by the World Trade Organization. This book ruminates on these regional agreements, their economic and strategic rationales and challenges during negotiations and afterwards. The book brings together eminent scholars and experts to deepen our understanding of the complex nature of the mega-regional trade agreements and their implications. It is useful both for the academic and research community and for policymakers who focus on trade and economic cooperation issues.