Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): Progress and Challenges

Abstract

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an ongoing free trade agreement involving ASEAN member states (AMSs) and six trading partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. In the last few years, the RCEP was negotiated in parallel and recognized as a competitor to another mega trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP). The ASEAN-led trade deal is now in the spotlight after President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the TPP. This article examines the progress and chal-lenges of the RCEP, then discusses the impli-cations and prospects of the negotiation. Through this work, we can re-evaluate the economic significance of the RCEP amid growing protectionism in the Asia-Pacific region.