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Mega-regional FTAs

Image credit: Ana María Palacio/pacificallianceblog.com


In the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, several large new trade deals have been proposed to supposedly boost production, trade and growth outside the frame of the World Trade Organisation. These deals are called “mega-regionals” because they are not between two countries alone and involve large shares of world trade or investment. The following fall into this category:

 the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) between the US, Japan and 10 other countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam);
 the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the 28-member European Union and the US;
 the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement between the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and six countries ASEAN already has FTAs with (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea);
 the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) being hammered out between 23 countries (Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, EU, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the US); and
 the Tripartite FTA (TFTA) merging three African regional economic communities: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC).
 the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), next stage of the TFTA in which all 54 African Union states are expected to be member

The TFTA was signed in June 2015 and the TPP in February 2016, but are not yet in force. All the other deals are under negotiation.

In this section we collate leaks and texts of these agreements.

October 2016


RCEP e-commerce chapter text (Feb 2020)
Final text of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), presumably subject to technical legal review
EU-US FTA: EU negotiating mandates (Apr 2019)
As agreed by the European Council
EU-US FTA: EU draft negotiating mandates (Jan 2019)
As released by the European Commission
EU-US FTA: Summary of specific negotiating objectives (US, Jan 2019)
As released by the Office of the US Trade Representative
AfCFTA: Annexes (May 2018)
RCEP - draft chapter on trade in services (Dec 2016)
As leaked by KEI
RCEP - draft chapter on competition (Dec 2016)
As leaked by KEI