RCEP 2020 (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership)

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement is a regional supranational meta-framework foundational-RCEP-treaty framework adopted by the 15 founding Asia-Pacific states virtually-from-Hanoi — structurally distinctive globally as the largest free trade agreement globally by GDP f…

Key Developments

1. 1992

   ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) foundation

   ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) established 28 January 1992 at 4th ASEAN Summit Singapore via Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme (CEPT) — pivotal foundation framework for subsequent ASEAN-centred regional trade frameworks including ASEAN+3 + ASEAN+6 + RCEP. Foundation for ~30-year ASEAN-centred regional trade architecture leading to RCEP.

2. 2005

   ASEAN+3 + ASEAN+6 frameworks

   ASEAN+3 China + Japan + Korea + ASEAN+6 Australia + China + India + Japan + Korea + New Zealand frameworks operational from 2005 — predecessor framework to RCEP.

3. 2008

   ASEAN Charter entry into force + institutional foundation

   ASEAN Charter entered into force 15 December 2008 — pivotal modern institutional foundation framework cementing ASEAN as juridical entity + foundation for subsequent ASEAN-centred RCEP negotiations launched 2012 + ASEAN-centrality principle codified in RCEP framework.

4. 2012

   RCEP negotiations launched

   RCEP negotiations launched 20 November 2012 at 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh Cambodia by 10 ASEAN + Australia + China + India + Japan + Korea + New Zealand 16 founding states — formal RCEP negotiation framework operational.

5. 2017

   US withdrawal from TPP + RCEP momentum acceleration

   US withdrawal from Trans-Pacific Partnership 23 January 2017 by President Trump Executive Order — pivotal modern context accelerating RCEP momentum framework as remaining Asia-Pacific regional binding-treaty trade framework + foundation for subsequent 2019 India withdrawal + 2020 RCEP Agreement signing framework.

6. 2019

   India withdraws from RCEP negotiations

   India withdrew from RCEP negotiations 4 November 2019 at Bangkok ASEAN Summit — formal RCEP India-withdrawal framework operational.

7. 2020

   RCEP Agreement signed

   RCEP Agreement signed 15 November 2020 virtually-from-Hanoi Vietnam by 15 Asia-Pacific states — formal foundational RCEP treaty framework adopted.

8. 2022

   RCEP Agreement enters force

   RCEP Agreement entered force 1 January 2022 for first 10 ratifiers — formal foundational RCEP treaty framework operational.

9. 2023

   RCEP Agreement enters force for all 15 RCEP states

   RCEP Agreement entered force for Philippines 2 June 2023 + Myanmar 4 March 2024 + final RCEP entry-into-force framework — formal RCEP all-15-member framework operational.

10. 2024

    RCEP Secretariat established + Sri Lanka + Hong Kong + Chile applications

    RCEP Secretariat established 2024 in Jakarta Indonesia + Sri Lanka + Hong Kong + Chile applications for RCEP accession 2024 — formal RCEP institutional + expansion framework operational.

Structural Findings

• RCEP Agreement operates a regional supranational binding-treaty framework — places RCEP Agreement in the regional supranational-meta-framework cluster.
• Largest free trade agreement globally by GDP framework + only modern Asia-Pacific regional supranational binding-treaty framework operating on formal ASEAN-Plus-Five Asia-Pacific framework is structurally distinctive globally — largest free trade agreement globally by GDP framework with USD ~26 trillion combined GDP framework + ~2.3 billion population framework + ~30% global GDP framework + ~30% global population framework + only modern Asia-Pacific regional supranational binding-treaty framework operating formal ASEAN-Plus-Five framework.
• Central jurisdiction of formal RCEP ASEAN-Plus-Five framework is structurally distinctive globally — only modern Asia-Pacific regional supranational binding-treaty framework operating formal ASEAN-Plus-Five framework + first formal China-Japan-Korea trilateral free-trade framework via RCEP framework.
• Central jurisdiction of formal RCEP Rules of Origin Cumulation framework is structurally distinctive globally — only modern Asia-Pacific regional supranational binding-treaty framework operating formal single-cumulation-area rules-of-origin framework.
• Central jurisdiction of formal RCEP India Withdrawal framework is structurally distinctive globally — only modern regional supranational binding-treaty framework operating formal major-state-withdrawal-from-negotiations framework.
• 15 RCEP member state ratification framework with India-withdrawal framework is structurally distinctive globally — comprehensive Asia-Pacific regional coverage framework.
• 2005 ASEAN+3 + ASEAN+6 + 2012 RCEP negotiations launched + 2019 India withdraws + 2020 RCEP Agreement signed + 2022 RCEP entry into force + 2023 Philippines + 2024 Myanmar + Secretariat + Sri Lanka + Hong Kong + Chile applications RCEP-framework-development sequence is structurally distinctive globally.
• RCEP Agreement + Chapter 3 Rules of Origin Cumulation + Chapter 19 Dispute Settlement + Joint Leaders' Statement India Withdrawal formal quartet framework with limited PA-intersection framework via formal Asia-Pacific trade framework not directly addressing family-law-issues framework — distinctive in operating limited PA-intersection framework relative to other regional frameworks.

Apex Courts

• RCEP Joint Committee — rotating. Formal supreme decision-making body for RCEP.
• RCEP Secretariat — Jakarta. Formal administrative body for RCEP.
• RCEP Dispute Settlement Panels — ad-hoc. Apex RCEP dispute-settlement framework body via Chapter 19 framework.

Statutory Framework

• RCEP Agreement (2022). Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed 15 November 2020 virtually-from-Hanoi Vietnam + effective 1 January 2022 for first 10 ratifiers — formal foundational RCEP treaty framework establishing comprehensive ASEAN-Plus-Five framework.
• RCEP Chapter 3 (2022). RCEP Chapter 3 framework on rules-of-origin cumulation allowing inputs from any RCEP party to count toward originating status — formal foundational RCEP rules-of-origin cumulation framework.
• RCEP Chapter 19 (2022). RCEP Chapter 19 framework on state-state dispute settlement following WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding model — formal foundational RCEP dispute-settlement framework.
• RCEP Joint Leaders' Statement 2019 (2019). RCEP Joint Leaders' Statement 4 November 2019 at Bangkok ASEAN Summit noting India's withdrawal from RCEP negotiations + India open to rejoining framework — formal foundational RCEP India-withdrawal framework.

Raw data: /jurisdictions/rcep.json
Maintained by Alan Markson · Licensed under CC BY 4.0 · Originally published at antialienate.com.