Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six Asia-Pacific states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). It is reported that a broad agreement is likely to be reached in November 2018.^[1]

RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.^[2] The free trade agreement is scheduled and expected to be signed in November 2018 during the ASEAN Summit and Related Summit in Singapore, after the first RCEP summit was held on 14 November 2017 in Manila, Philippines.^[3] RCEP is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade agreement which includes several Asian and American nations but excludes China and India.^[4]

In 2017, prospective RCEP member states accounted for a population of 3.4 billion people with a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP, PPP) of $49.5 trillion, approximately 39 percent of the world's GDP,^[5] with the combined GDPs of China and India making up more than half that amount.

RCEP is the world's largest economic bloc, covering nearly half of the global economy.^[6] According to estimates by PwC, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, PPP) of RCEP member states is likely to amount to nearly $250 trillion by 2050, or a quarter of a quadrillion dollars, with the combined GDPs of China and India making up more than 75% of the amount. RCEP's share of the global economy could account for half of the estimated $0.5 quadrillion global GDP (PPP) by 2050.

Membership

The 16 member countries of the RCEP
Blue: ASEAN
Purple: ASEAN Plus Three
Teal: ASEAN Plus Six

The arrangement is also open to any other external economic partners, such as nations in Central Asia and remaining nations in South Asia and Oceania.^[7]

Basic indicators of the RCEP 16 countries

Flag	Country	Capital	Area (km²)	Population	Nominal GDP (millions of US$)	GDP per cap. (Nominal, US$)	PPP GDP (millions of Int$)	GDP per cap. (PPP, Int$)	HDI	Currency	Official languages	Leaders
	Australia Commonwealth of Australia	Canberra	7,692,024	24,419,900	1,482,282	7004552150000000000♠55,215	1,296,075	7004508170000000000♠50,817	6999939000000000000♠0.939	Australian dollar ($) (AUD)	None National and de facto: English	Monarch: Elizabeth II Governor-General: Peter Cosgrove Prime Minister: Scott Morrison
	Brunei Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace Negara Brunei Darussalam	Bandar Seri Begawan	5,765	417,200	11,991	7004287400000000000♠28,740	33,756	7004765670000000000♠76,567	6999865000000000000♠0.865	Brunei dollar ($) (BND)	Malay	Monarch: Hassanal Bolkiah
	Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa	Phnom Penh	181,035	15,626,444	24,307	7003130800000000000♠1,308	69,884	7003402200000000000♠4,022	6999562999999900000♠0.563	Cambodian riel (៛) (KHR)	Khmer	Monarch: Norodom Sihamoni Prime Minister: Hun Sen
	China People's Republic of China Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó	Beijing	9,596,961	1,382,580,000	13,118,689	7003948900000000000♠9,489	25,102,916	18,158	6999738000000000000♠0.738	Renminbi (Chinese yuan, ¥) (CNY)	Standard Chinese written in simplified characters see also: Languages of China	Premier: Li Keqiang President: Xi Jinping
	India Republic of India Bhārat Gaṇarājya	New Delhi	3,287,263	1,314,470,000	2,654,165	7003185000000000000♠1,850	10,339,552	7003715300000000000♠7,153	6999624000000000000♠0.624	Indian rupee (₹) (INR)	Hindi English 21 other official languages see also: Languages of India	President: Ram Nath Kovind Prime Minister: Narendra Modi
	Indonesia Republic of Indonesia Republik Indonesia	Jakarta	1,910,931	263,510,000	1,092,138	7003389500000000000♠3,895	3,481,107	7004124320000000000♠12,432	6999689009999900000♠0.689	Indonesian rupiah (Rp) (IDR)	Indonesian see also: Languages of Indonesia	President: Joko Widodo
	Japan Nippon-koku	Tokyo	377,930	126,760,000	5,063,129	7004382810000000000♠38,281	5,545,884	7004428600000000000♠42,860	6999903000000000000♠0.903	Japanese yen (¥) (JPY)	Japanese	Monarch: Akihito Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe
	Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao	Vientiane	236,800	6,492,400	18,674	7003205100000000000♠2,051	53,626	7003611500000000000♠6,115	6999586000000000000♠0.586	Lao kip (₭) (LAK)	Lao	Prime Minister: Thongloun Sisoulith President: Bounnhang Vorachith
	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur Putrajaya (administrative)	330,803	32,019,500	340,923	7003962300000000000♠9,623	988,993	7004286360000000000♠28,636	6999789000000000000♠0.789	Malaysian ringgit (RM) (MYR)	Malaysian see also: Languages of Malaysia	Monarch: Muhammad V Prime Minister: Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
	Myanmar (Burma) Republic of the Union of Myanmar Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw	Naypyidaw	676,578	54,836,000	74,002	7003137400000000000♠1,374	362,969	7003636000000000000♠6,360	6999556000000000000♠0.556	Burmese kyat (K) (MMK)	Burmese see also: Languages of Myanmar	President: Htin Kyaw State Counsellor: Aung San Suu Kyi
	New Zealand Aotearoa	Wellington	270,467	4,786,710	215,172	7004411070000000000♠41,107	195,103	7004387060000000000♠38,706	6999915000000000000♠0.915	New Zealand dollar ($) (NZD)	English Māori	Monarch: Elizabeth II Governor-General: Patsy Reddy Prime Minister: Bill English
	Philippines Republic of the Philippines Republika ng Pilipinas	Manila	300,000	103,874,000	357,792	7003310200000000000♠3,102	951,224	7003827000000000000♠8,270	6999682000000000000♠0.682	Philippine peso (₱) (PHP)	Filipino (Tagalog) English	President: Rodrigo Duterte
	Singapore Republic of Singapore Republik Singapura Xīnjiāpō Gònghéguó Ciṅkappūr Kuṭiyaracu	Singapore (city-state)	719	5,607,300	316,872	7004514310000000000♠51,431	537,447	7004907240000000000♠90,724	6999925000000000000♠0.925	Singapore dollar ($) (SGD)	Malay English Mandarin Tamil see also: Languages of Singapore	President: Halimah Yacob Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
	South Korea Republic of Korea Daehan Minguk	Seoul	100,210	51,446,201	1,597,392	7004291140000000000♠29,114	2,127,164	7004394460000000000♠39,446	6999901000000000000♠0.901	South Korean won (₩) (KRW)	Korean	Prime Minister: Lee Nak-yeon President: Moon Jae-in
	Thailand Kingdom of Thailand Ratcha-anachak Thai	Bangkok	513,120	68,298,000	466,623	7003626500000000000♠6,265	1,296,095	7004177490000000000♠17,749	6999740000000000000♠0.740	Thai baht (฿) (THB)	Thai	Monarch: Vajiralongkorn Prime Minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha
	Vietnam Socialist Republic of Vietnam Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam	Hanoi	331,212	92,700,000	234,688	7003230500000000000♠2,305	697,752	7003692500000000000♠6,925	6999683000000000000♠0.683	Vietnamese đồng (₫) (VND)	Vietnamese	Prime Minister: Nguyễn Xuân Phúc President: Trần Đại Quang

Presence in the world

RCEP Population - 2012 : IMF - World Economic Outlook Databases (October 2013)

RCEP GDP - 2012 : IMF - World Economic Outlook Databases (October 2013)

RCEP potentially includes more than 3 billion people or 45% of the world's population, and a combined GDP of about $21.3 trillion, accounting for about 40 percent of world trade.^[9] The combined GDP of potential RCEP members surpassed the combined GDP of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members in 2007. Continued growth, particularly in China, India and Indonesia could see total GDP in RCEP grow to over $100 trillion by 2050, roughly double the project size of TPP economies.^[10]

The resulting impact of the RCEP will take significant strides towards bridging the economic divide between developed and less-developed members of this region. In large, this will be due to the growth of global production networks and supply chains in East Asia, and the streamlining of silo FTAs in ASEAN.^[11]

GDP projections for potential RCEP member countries to 2050.^[10]

On January 23, 2017, United States President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that stated withdrawal of the country from the TPP, a move which is seen to improve the chances of success for RCEP.^[12]

History and timeline

• During the 19th ASEAN Summit held 14–19 November 2011, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was introduced.^[13]
• The 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings were held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, 25 August - 1 September 2012.^[14]
• Leaders at the 21st ASEAN Summit held 18–20 November 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia endorsed the framework of RCEP and announced the launch of their negotiations.^[15]
• Round 1: 9–13 May 2013 in Brunei^[8]
• The second round of RCEP negotiations were held 23–27 September 2013 in Brisbane, Australia.^[16]
• The third round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations were held 20–24 January 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[17]
• The 4th round of RCEP negotiations took place in Nanning, China 31 March – 4 April 2014.^[18]
• The 5th RCEP negotiation round was held on 21–27 June 2014 in Singapore.^[19]
• The 6th round of RCEP Trade Negotiation Committee(TNC) and related meetings took place 1–5 December 2014 in New Delhi, India.^[20] The Indians held an outreach event with their business community to educate them on the goals of RCEP. The Japanese asked to set up a workshop on e-Commerce.
• The 7th round of RCEP meetings took place in Bangkok, Thailand 9–13 February 2015. An expert group on electronic commerce met during this round. The Asian Trade Centre (based in Singapore) submitted a proposal regarding an e-Commerce chapter and gave a presentation on the paper.
• The 8th round of the RCEP talks took place in Kyoto, Japan 5–13 June.
• The 9th round of the RCEP talks took place in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar 3–7 August 2015.
• The 10th round of the RCEP talks took place in Busan, South Korea in 12–16 October 2015. The meetings took place at BEXCO (Busan's Convention and Exhibition Centre). This round included the first region wide stakeholder meeting (organized by the Singapore-based Asian Trade Centre) which involved an informal meeting between government officials and business representatives over lunch followed by an afternoon seminar focused on what RCEP can do to help business operate in the e-Commerce space.
• On February 14–19, the 11th round of negotiations of the RCEP was held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.^[21]
• On April 17–29, the 12th round of negotiation of RCEP was held in Perth, Australia. ^[22]
• Round 13: June 2016 in New Zealand
• The 14th round of RCEP negotiation was held on August 15–18 in Vietnam.
• The 15th round of RCEP negotiation was held on October 11–22 in Tianjin, China.^[23]
• The 16th round of negotiations of RCEP was held on December 6–10 in Tangerang, Indonesia.
• The 17th round of negotiations of RCEP was held in Kobe, from February 27 to March 3 in Kobe, Japan.
• The 18th round of RCEP negotiation was held on May 8–12 in Manila, Philippines.^[24]
• The 19th round of RCEP negotiation was held on July 24–28 in Hyderabad, India.^[25]
• Round 20: September 2017 in Philippines
• Round 21: The first RCEP summit was held on Nov 14 in Manila, Philippines.^[6][26]
• Round 22: March 2018 in Singapore
• Aug 31: The two day meeting in Singapore ended with all RCEP members agreeing to put forward proposals by Oct 10 regarding ease of movement for workers. Member countries went on to agree to the establishment of an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism.^[27] India wins important concessions with RCEP members allowing India over 20 years to remove tariffs on key items from China, Australia and New Zealand.^[28]
• August-October 2018, a series of ministerial meeting in Singapore and Auckland.^[29]
• November 2018, Leaders' summit in Singapore where a broad agreement is expected.^[30]

Controversies and criticism

RCEP has been criticized by free culture activists for containing "quite simply the worst provisions on copyright [...] ever seen in a trade agreement."^[31] Global health care activists have criticized the agreement for potentially forcing India to end its cheap supply of generic medications to poor countries.^[32]

See also

• Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• East Asian Community
• East Asia Summit
• South Asian Free Trade Area
• ASEAN+3
• Free trade agreement
• Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP)
• Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

References

External links

• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ASEAN