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IT IS too early to assume that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will not benefit the country, as the purpose of agreement is to allow bigger market access to local industry players.
Senior Minister (Economy Cluster) and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (picture) said the RCEP, which is expected to be ratified by year end or by the first quarter of 2020, will also provide opportunities for them to be more globally competitive.
He said based on the deliberations that ran for eight years, the ministry had also engaged many stakeholders — the industries, policymakers and non-governmental organisations to ensure that Malaysia will benefit from the agreement.
“Currently, our market is very small, how do you expect the local players to expand and be more competitive if they just confine themselves to Malaysian market?
Read more: https://www.cariasean.org/news/cari-captures-issue-494-rcep-and-cptpp-ex...
The RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement established to broaden and deepen the engagement among the 15 participating parties and enhance their participation in the economic development of the region. Participating countries include all ASEAN member states, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Together, they constitute approximately 30 percent of global GDP and a third of the world population.
The RCEP includes a chapter on intellectual property (“IP”).[1] This IP chapter aims to reduce IP-related barriers to trade and investment by promoting economic integration and cooperation in the utilization, protection, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, as well as to promote technological innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology.
Key features of the IP Chapter
The Chinese government said Monday that it has formally ratified the world's largest free trade deal signed last year by 15 Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
China hopes other countries will speed up their processes to put into force the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, the nation's parliament.
In an attempt to boost its economic influence in the region, China has also recently expressed its eagerness to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, from which the United States withdrew in January 2017.
The RCEP, covering a third of global trade and population, involves ASEAN, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that on 9 April 2021, Singapore deposited its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and became the first country to complete the official process for ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement. It is understood that China, Japan and Thailand completed their domestic procedures to approve RCEP, but apparently have not deposited their instruments of ratification with ASEAN.
RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement and was signed by all 10 ASEAN members (Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines) and key partners China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand at the 4th RCEP leaders’ summit in November 2020. These 15 countries account for almost 29% of global GDP.
The Ministry of Commerce expects the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement – signed by Cambodia and 14 other countries in November – to enter into force on January 1.
Ratification of the trade deal is expected to open up more new markets as well as upgrade the Kingdom’s value chains and integrate them within the region and beyond.
A virtual intergovernmental meeting was held on June 21 to present a draft law authorising the RCEP’s ratification to a National Assembly committee.
The world’s largest regional trade deal was initiated in November 2012 at the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, but it was not endorsed until November 15, due to the complexity of negotiations.
Leaders of the 10 ASEAN states, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea witnessed the signing of the agreement via video link following the conclusion of the 4th RCEP Summit on the same day.
MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to submit the request to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to President Rodrigo Duterte within this month, a trade official said.
DTI Assistant Secretary Allan Gepty told the Philippine News Agency that the country targets to ratify RCEP by June upon submitting the request to the President.
Gepty said with the said timeline, the Senate is expected to deliberate the concurrence of RCEP from July to November.
“For the Philippines, we are working hard to finish our internal processes so that the Philippines can be one of the first six Asean member states to deposit the instrument of ratification,” he said.
RCEP will enter into force 60 days after six Asean member states and at least three of Asean free trade agreement (FTA) partners have ratified the regional trade deal.
The ratification provides a legal basis to implement treaties, such as trade agreement.
Vientiane, 6 April 2021: A two-day online training and discussion around the Transposition of Tariff Commitment from ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2012 into 2017 was held virtually on 5-6 April 2021. This activity, for Lao Government officials, is to support preparations for the anticipated implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The training was organised by ERIA’s Capacity Building Programme following a request from Mme Khemmani Pholsena, former Minister at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC). Co-hosted by the MOIC, the training was facilitated by expert on this topic and former ASEAN Secretariat official, Mr Ahmad Syaukat Romawi. Ten government officials - from various departments including the Department of Foreign Trade Policy, Import and Export, and Customs, actively involved in the transposition process, participated in this online event.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement was signed on 15 November 2020 by the 10 ASEAN countries along with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, after almost a decade of negotiations. It is currently the largest regional free trade agreement (FTA) outside the World Trade Organisation (WTO), accounting for about 30% of the world’s GDP. The RCEP’s legal text consists of 20 chapters covering topics relating to trade in goods and services, movement of people, investment, intellectual property (IP), e-commerce, competition, government procurement and dispute settlement.
Key developments expected under the RCEP include further liberalisation of trade, including tariff elimination by 92% over a period of 20 years, removal of non-tariff trade barriers and increased trade facilitation, removal of barriers to services sectors, as well as an enhanced business environment through regulation.
Impact to businesses