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, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia,Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.

RCEP market snapshot (including Australia)

• GDP: US$21.3 trillion (2013)
• GDP per capita: US$6,191 (2013)
• Population: 3,435 million (2013)
• Trade with Australia: AU$382.8 billion (2013)

About the RCEP negotiations

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations were launched by Leaders from ASEAN and ASEAN’s FTA partners in the margins of the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 20 November 2012. The negotiations are based on the Guiding Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the RCEP [PDF] endorsed by Leaders.

RCEP is an ASEAN-centred proposal for a regional free trade area, which would initially include the ten ASEAN member states and those countries which have existing FTAs with ASEAN – Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand. The RCEP will build on and expand Australia’s existing FTA with ASEAN and New Zealand,AANZFTA. It will complement Australia’s participation in bilateral trade negotiations and in Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) negotiations.

RCEP has the potential to deliver significant opportunities for Australian businesses. The 16 RCEP participating countries account for almost half of the world’s population, almost 30 per cent of global GDP and over a quarter of world exports.

The objective of launching RCEP negotiations is to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement that will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property, competition, dispute settlement and other issues.

RCEP forms part of the Government’s strategy for lowering trade barriers and securing improved market access for Australian exporters of goods and services and Australian investors.

Key interests and benefits

• RCEP participating countries are important economic partners and regional neighbours for Australia.
• Nine out of Australia’s top 12 trading partners (China, Japan, ROK, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia) are participating in RCEP negotiations, and together with the other six participating countries, account for almost 60 per cent of Australia’s two-way trade, and 70 per cent of Australia’s goods and services exports.
• RCEP will provide a basis for more open trade and investment in the region. This will help address concerns about a ‘noodle bowl’ of overlapping bilateral agreements and derive additional benefits (eg. through supply chains) from regional liberalisation.
• Australia and a number of other countries are engaged both in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and RCEP negotiations – both processes provide possible pathways to a free trade area of the Asia–Pacific.