JAKARTA, 9 December 2021 – As the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement enters into force on 1 January 2022, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), in collaboration with the East Asia Business Council (EABC), is intensifying its public outreach programme to ensure a high utilisation rate of the new FTA deal among businesses in the region.

In the 4th round of the RCEP Webinar, held today, the discussion focused on investment, e-commerce, and intellectual property rights chapters of the Agreement.  These three areas are deemed essential to support the overall post-pandemic economic recovery efforts.

In his welcoming remarks, Director for Market Integration of ASEC, Le Quang Lan stated that “post-pandemic economic recovery requires more trade and investment, not less. This is where RCEP is expected to contribute. However, we need to be mindful that the success of RCEP hinges on its effective implementation at the national level”.

Under the RCEP Agreement, signatories are required to adopt regulatory reforms as part of their RCEP commitments to further solidify a healthy environment for businesses in the region and help bounce back better and stronger from the pandemic.

A total of seven speakers and panellists, representing the public and private sectors, and ASEC, joined the webinar to offer insights into each of the three issues. The full session of the webinar is available at this link.

This article was published in https://asean.org/ with the title “Asean on track to ink world’s largest trade pact at summit”. Click to read: https://asean.org/4th-round-of-rcep-webinar-series-reaffirms-need-for-regulatory-committments-to-support-regions-recovery-in-post-pandemic-window/

JAKARTA, 1 January 2022 – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement enters into force today for Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, paving the way for the creation of the world’s largest free trade area.

According to data by the World Bank, the agreement would cover 2.3 billion people or 30% of the world’s population, contribute US$ 25.8 trillion about 30% of global GDP, and account for US$ 12.7 trillion, over a quarter of global trade in goods and services.

Thirty-one percent of global FDI inflows RCEP Agreement will also enter into force on 1 February 2022 for the Republic of Korea. The remaining signatory States will enter into force 60 days after the deposit of their respective instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval of the Secretary-General of ASEAN as the depositary of the RCEP Agreement.

The entry into force of the RCEP Agreement is a manifestation of the region’s resolve to keep markets open; strengthen regional economic integration; support an open, free, fair, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system; and, ultimately, contribute to global post-pandemic recovery efforts.

Through new market access commitments and streamlined, modern rules and disciplines that facilitate trade and investment, RCEP promises to deliver new business and employment opportunities, strengthen supply chains in the region, and promote the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises into the regional value chains and production hubs.

The ASEAN Secretariat remains committed to support the RCEP process in ensuring its effective and efficient implementation.