Tran Phuong Ngoc

Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Foreign Trade University

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is the world’s largest regional trading bloc, consisting of a combined population of 2.2 billion people (30% of the world) and nearly 28% of global trade. It comprises the 10 members of ASEAN (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam) and five other countries in the region – Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. RCEP is expected to benefit not only East Asia but will also have a global impact because it will enhance open regionalism and global trade in terms of a rules-based trading framework. The RCEP is an important framework for global trade and regionalism, given the current context of uncertainty and inward-looking policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war. At the same time, the implementation of the RCEP will strengthen the position of Asian geopolitics. This paper will provide information on this regional agreement and analyze its impacts on the economy and politics of Asia – an emerging hub for international trade with the most promising markets.