Time: 02/2021

By: Policy Department for External Relations, Directorate General for External Policies of the Union

15 countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on 15 November 2020.Upon ratification, it will become the largest preferential trade agreement by economic output in the world, with the potential to increase trade and integration among the economies of East Asia. This briefing presents the structure and the content of the agreement, its relationship to existing cooperation in the region, and discusses important economic and political implications.

This briefing is attached below:

• Briefing - Short overview of RCEP

• RCEP: Implications, Challenges, and Future Growth of East Asia and ASEAN
• The E-book on Interpretation and Utilization of RCEP Agreement
• Business Handbook “A Summary of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)”
• [UNCTAD] Global Investment Trend Monitor No. 37: RCEP Agreement