The case for RCEP as Asia’s next trade agreement
Six years in the making, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is slated to become an ASEAN-centric, comprehensive free trade area. Its 16 negotiating parties are racing to reach a “substantial conclusion” by the ASEAN summit of mid-November 2018. But even if this deadline is not met, RCEP is poised to make large contributions to Asian and global economic cooperation.
