bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

RCEP

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a “mega-regional” trade agreement that was signed in November 2020. It had been negotiated since 2012 between the 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) governments and their six FTA partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. But in November 2019, India decided not to join the treaty. The eight years of RCEP negotiations were shrouded in secrecy. Social movements could only rely on leaks to analyse the proposed agreement.

RCEP is largely driven by ASEAN. Indeed, the project originated in, and expands upon, the stitching together of five existing ASEAN+1 trade agreements that ASEAN signed with Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia and New Zealand. The stated goal of the negotiations was to “boost economic growth and equitable economic development, advance economic cooperation and broaden and deepen integration in the region through the RCEP,” according to the ASEAN website. RCEP covers almost every aspect of economy such as goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property rights (IPR), rules of origin, competition and dispute settlement.

Throughout the negotiations, concerns about the RCEP were voiced in a number of contexts and concern a range of issues. A 2015 leaked text on intellectual property rights proposed by Japan’s negotiators confirmed concerns that the deal could go beyond the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Various movements and organisations, including environmental groups, trade unions, domestic workers, farmers, hawkers, women groups, and people living with HIV have raised their concerns throughout the negotiations and the current ratification process. Thousands of people marched against the trade deal’s harmful provisions, demanding transparency from governments, in Hyderabad, India, in July 2017, and organised a People’s Convention on RCEP.

In 2019, public pressure forced India to pull out of the negotiations. Several harmful provisions were dropped too, such as the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which allows corporations to sue states before arbitration courts over lost expected profits, and mandatory UPOV91 membership. UPOV is a specialised system of seed patenting, which makes it illegal – in fact, a criminal offence — for farmers to save and reuse protected seeds.

The final text shows that there are no increases in patent monopolies for medicines above the WTO standard of 20 years, advocated by pharmaceutical companies and pushed by Japan and South Korea early in the negotiations, which could have delayed the availability of generic forms of medicines, especially in low income countries, and would have been very damaging in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The electronic commerce chapter left out some of the most dire rules pushed by Big Tech, and present in other trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and is not enforceable.

However the RCEP will worsen the balance of trade of almost all of its member countries, especially ‘developing’ and ‘less developed’ countries, according to a UNCTAD assessment. This can potentially increase the pressure to privatise essential public services, all the more so since such services are, under the deal, governed by international “trade rules” that suit corporations and limit states’ ability to regulate them in the public interest. The same rules that remove barriers to foreign investment can also apply to the agriculture sector, and increase the trend of land grabbing.

A joint statement by seven trade union federations in the Asia-Pacific said that the RCEP would result in the deterioration of working conditions in a race to the bottom under heightened competition, in which migrant workers face the worst consequences. They added that: “instead of furthering a free trade project, countries should be collaborating on reviving their economies and expanding public goods.”

China, Singapore and Thailand were the first countries to ratify the agreement at the beginning of 2021. In order to enter into force, RCEP needs to be ratified by six ASEAN countries and three non-ASEAN countries.

See the full text here

Last update: April 2021 / Photo: bilaterals.org



Senate cements Philippines’ membership in RCEP trade deal
The Senate on Tuesday night concurred with the ratification of the Philippines’ membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or RCEP, the latest country in Southeast Asia to join the world’s largest free trade deal.
Farmers make a final appeal to Senators to reject RCEP
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said the Philippines’ agriculture sector stands to lose the most under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreements.
Senate to resume RCEP deliberations
Farmer groups maintain their opposition against the Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (RCEP) as Senate resumes its deliberations Tuesday, Feb. 7, on the country’s participation in the mega trade deal.
Agricultural groups say RCEP trade deal to hurt local farmers
Several agricultural groups reiterated their opposition to the ratification of the Philippine participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) saying it could hurt local farmers.
Marcos backing for RCEP premature, think tank says
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s declaration of support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is premature pending the resolution of the agriculture industry remaining unresolved, a think tank said.
RCEP unlikely to lift Cambodia-Indonesia textile trade
The trade ties between Indonesia, which became the latest member to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and Cambodia are expected to go up, but the textile sector in both countries is unlikely to benefit from the agreement, according to some experts.
Hong Kong eyes RCEP membership
Hong Kong may join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement in the coming summer at the earliest. RCEP has started coordinating negotiations on Hong Kong’s application.
Hong Kong close to joining RCEP agreement
Hong Kong expects to be joining the RCEP as the administration sets to discuss its inclusion with all 15 RCEP members next year. Economic analysts see the presence of Hong Kong in the free-trade bloc as a boost to the ASEAN economy.
Further studies underway on joining RCEP
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) is conducting further studies on possible outcomes of the country joining the world’s largest China-led trade deal, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Jokowi ratifies largest regional trade agreement
Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Jokowi, officially ratified the RCEP, a regional free trade agreement involving 10 ASEAN countries and five partner countries, which are Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, and South Korea.