The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Asia Trade Connectedness

摘要

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) of November 15, 2020 is a major economic business architectural framework. The central focus of RCEP is tariff reduction among the fifteen major countries of Asia. The agreement brings together China, Japan, and South Korea, along with the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei, Australia, and New Zealand. The fifteen Asian countries, as well as the rest of the world, when we overcome the ravages of COVID-19, will all be searching for building blocks from Asia to the rest of the global economy. The agreement signed by the group is an enhancement to regional trade and regional GDP of the Asian economies. The total membership accounts for an estimated 1/3 of the population of this planet, as well as 1/3 of the world's economic output. When fully implemented, RCEP could add an estimated 200 USD billion USD annually to the global economy by the end of the next decade. This multi-lateral and regional approach creates a zone with significant tariff reductions internally and could have an impact across Asia to the Pacific, particularly the United States, as well as the European economies and emerging countries. It will open and create connected supply chains and enhance economic interdependence if it is fully implemented (or when initially implemented).