On 15 November 2020, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in a single original in the English language, at Bandar Seri Begawan, Phnom Penh, Jakarta, Vientiane, Kuala Lumpur, Nay Pyi Taw, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok, Ha Noi, Canberra, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Auckland. It is not CPTPP and not a stand-alone ASEAN+1 agreement. The Parties are the ten ASEAN Member States plus Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand. Article 1.1: the Parties establish RCEP as a free trade area, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS.

Article 1.3: the objectives are a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership, taking into account the stage of development of the Parties especially Least Developed Country Parties; progressive liberalisation of trade in goods through progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers on substantially all trade in goods among the Parties; progressive liberalisation of trade in services with substantial sectoral coverage; and a liberal, facilitative and competitive investment environment. The Preamble recalls the Joint Declaration adopted at Phnom Penh on 20 November 2012 launching the negotiations, and the need for flexibility, including special and differential treatment, especially for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

The Agreement has 20 chapters. Chapter 2: trade in goods and the tariff commitment schedules. Chapters 3 to 7: rules of origin, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical regulations, and trade remedies. Chapters 8 to 10: trade in services, temporary movement of natural persons, and investment. Article 10.18: the Parties shall, no later than two years after entry into force, enter into discussions on the settlement of investment disputes between a Party and an investor of another Party and on the application of expropriation to taxation measures; they shall conclude those discussions within three years; the outcomes are subject to agreement by all Parties. Chapters 11 to 16: intellectual property, electronic commerce, competition, small and medium enterprises, economic and technical cooperation, and government procurement.

Article 18.2: the Parties establish an RCEP Joint Committee consisting of senior officials designated by each Party. Article 18.3: it considers implementation and operation, proposals to amend, interpretations, subsidiary bodies and, on terms agreed by the Parties, an RCEP Secretariat. Article 19.3: the chapter applies to disputes between Parties on the interpretation and application of the Agreement and to failure to carry out obligations; non-violation complaints are not permitted. Article 19.5: where a dispute concerns substantially equivalent rights and obligations under this Agreement and another international trade or investment agreement, the Complaining Party may select the forum to the exclusion of other fora, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

Article 20.2: the Agreement is intended to coexist with the WTO Agreement and other agreements among the Parties; more favourable treatment under another agreement does not of itself mean an inconsistency. Article 20.4: amendments in writing enter into force 60 days after all Parties have notified the Depositary, or on such other date as the Parties may agree. Article 20.5: the Depositary is the Secretary-General of ASEAN. Article 20.7: withdrawal takes effect six months after written notice, unless the Parties agree a different period; the Agreement remains in force for the remaining Parties. Article 20.8: a general review five years after entry into force, and every five years thereafter.

Article 20.6: ratification, acceptance or approval; the Agreement enters into force for those signatory States that have deposited their instrument 60 days after at least six ASEAN signatory States and three non-ASEAN signatory States have deposited instruments. For any other signatory, 60 days after it deposits. ASEAN: 1 January 2022. Article 20.9: accession by any State or separate customs territory 18 months after entry into force, subject to the consent of the Parties; footnote 2: the Agreement is open for accession by India, as an original negotiating State, from the date of entry into force. It is not a ready-made ISDS mechanism and not the Marrakesh Agreement of 1994 as such.

Image: National Convention Center, Hanoi; Shine.like.EC, 20 July 2014; CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Treaty text: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, 15 November 2020.