RCEP
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a so-called mega-regional economic agreement being negotiated since 2012 between the 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) governments and their six FTA partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
RCEP is largely driven by ASEAN. Indeed, the project originated in, and expands upon, the stitching together of five existing ASEAN+1 trade agreements, that ASEAN signed with Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia and New Zealand. The stated goal of the negotiations is to “boost economic growth and equitable economic development, advance economic cooperation and broaden and deepen integration in the region through the RCEP,” according to the ASEAN website. From what is known of the agreement’s contents, the proposed RCEP would cover almost every aspect of economy such as goods, services, investment, economic and technical cooperation, intellectual property rights (IPR), rules of origin, competition and dispute settlement.
The negotiations have missed several deadlines repeatedly, even though they have gained momentum since 2016.
Concerns about the RCEP have been voiced in a number of contexts and cover a range of issues. A 2015 leaked text on intellectual property rights proposed by Japan’s negotiators confirmed concerns that the deal could go beyond the rules agreed to at the World Trade Organisation, known as the Trade Related Aspects of IPRs (TRIPS) agreement.
Various movements, including environmental groups, trade unions, domestic workers, farmers, hawkers, and people living with HIV have been raising their concerns over the trade deal since the text got leaked. Thousands of them marched against the harmful provisions in the trade deal, demanding transparency from governments, in Hyderabad, India, in July 2017 and organised a People’s Convention on RCEP.
The 2015 leaks also show that Japan and South Korea want to get all Asian countries into UPOV, the Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties, under the terms of its 1991 convention. UPOV is a specialised system of seed patenting, which makes it illegal – indeed, a criminal offense — for farmers to save and reuse patented seeds. This has huge implications for food security and farmers’ rights in the region.
The implications for access to medicines are even more alarming. Japan and South Korea are channeling demands by big pharma for longer patent terms and for monopoly rights over clinical trial data. These provisions could undermine access to price-lowering generic medicines, and thus, life-saving treatment for millions of people in the developing world.
On copyright and digital rights, groups say the deal could be “even worse than TPP or ACTA”, referring to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement that was stopped due to public pressure. On services and other chapters as well, the RCEP appears to overlap and compete with the higher-profile TPP agreement which has been signed by 11 Pacific Rim countries. (Seven of the states negotiating RCEP are TPP members.)
To date, no official text has been made public, even though the agreement would affect several billion people. This continues to fuel concerns. In fact, civil society groups were completely shut out of the 22nd negotiation round in Singapore in March 2018 while transnational corporations were invited for a business dialogue.
Last update: June 2018 / Photo: Siddharth Singh
Articles
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13-Aug-2018 The Hindu RCEP trade ministers to meet on Aug 30-31 in Singapore
The meeting is important as the 16-member bloc now needs specific political guidance to move the negotiations further. -
3-Aug-2018 Newsclick RCEP is intended to prevent government regulation and maximize private profit
Newsclick and Peoples Dispatch discuss the context in which the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is being negotiated. -
3-Aug-2018 AFTINET RCEP talks make small progress in Bangkok, while resistance grows
The 23rd round of the 16-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks over 10 days in Bangkok managed to resolve two more chapters, one on customs procedures and trade facilitation and one on government procurement. -
3-Aug-2018 Manila Times Asia’s evolving ‘free’ trade deal may not benefit workers
Labor unions and workers’ rights advocates fear that the secretive RCEP agreement will further erode workers’ rights in the Asian region, while strengthening the hands of investors who may be able to sue governments for changing laws such as setting minimum wages, that would erode their profitability. -
3-Aug-2018 Nikkei ASEAN urges partners to speed up RCEP talks amid US-China trade war
The escalating trade war between the US and China has prompted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to call for accelerated negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade framework involving ASEAN and six partner countries. -
2-Aug-2018 Asia Times Dozens of grassroots groups want changes to ‘secret’ trade pact
While some states in East and Southeast Asia favor the 16-nation RCEP trade deal, many civil society groups say it lacks transparency and public participation. -
2-Aug-2018 AFP Singapore eyes year-end to conclude world’s biggest free-trade deal
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Southeast Asian countries were "redoubling their efforts to conclude the RCEP … by the end of the year". -
31-Jul-2018 The Japan News 16 nations reach 2 more deals in RCEP talks
Negotiators from Asia-Oceania countries struck deals on customs procedures and trade facilitation and government procurement covered by RCEP free trade agreement. Adding to two previously concluded chapter of economic and technical cooperation as well as small businesses. -
30-Jul-2018 IGJ IGJ Sampaikan Sejumlah Catatan Merah dalam Perundingan RCEP
Direktur Eksekutif Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) Rachmi Hertanti menyampaikan beberapa catatan merah yang harus diperhatikan oleh negosiator terkait dengan bab investasi pada perundingan RCEP ke-23 di Bangkok, Thailand, diantaranya soal ISDS, performance requirements dan export taxes. -
26-Jul-2018 Peoples Dispatch RCEP: People’s movements resist free trade agreement
Organizations across the Asia Pacific region have come together to oppose the secrecy surrounding the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. -
25-Jul-2018 IGJ Oral Statement: Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) for the 23rd round RCEP negotiation, Bangkok, Thailand, July 23rd, 2018
Redlines for investment provision in RCEP negotiation -
25-Jul-2018 La Via Campesina RCEP negotiation must stop, demands Assembly of the Poor, Thailand
Free trade negotiation never benefits the poor. But it gives opportunities for the capitalist transnational corporations to control and dictate the food and agriculture systems absolutely. -
24-Jul-2018 APWLD RCEP has human rights concerns: Women’s groups
The women’s groups strongly reject RCEP as it reinforces a destructive development model that the existing free trade agreements and the policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation have inflicted upon the world’s poor and particularly poor women. -
24-Jul-2018 Bangkok Post RCEP agreement puts future of Thai people at risk
The Thai government is about to enter a trade deal that could seriously harm the reform agenda and deprive communities of the ability to make decisions for fear of violating investors’ rights. -
23-Jul-2018 Peoples Dispatch Activists gather in Bangkok to discuss countering RCEP
The deal is likely to deal a huge blow to the less developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region and benefit big corporations and the richer countries. -
20-Jul-2018 APWLD Peoples movements reject the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
More than 80 participants representing trade union, farmers, indigenous peoples, health and patients networks, women’s organisations, academia and civil society organisations from the region have gathered in Thailand on the sidelines of the 23rd round of RCEP negotiations. -
20-Jul-2018 Bangkok Post Trade deals putting health at risk
A leaked draft of the negotiating text has revealed some proposed harmful intellectual property provisions that could undermine access to price-lowering, generic medicines, and thus, life-saving treatment to millions of people. -
20-Jul-2018 Friends of the Earth International Secret RCEP trade deal fails international standards of transparency, experts warn
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving 16 nations from Asia-Pacific will impact the lives of over three billion people, yet a new study reveals how the deal fails international standards of transparency and public engagement. -
19-Jul-2018 APWLD No RCEP campaign: Thai women’s groups reject RCEP
Women’s rights organisations from Thailand say NO to RCEP as the neoliberal free trade agreement will only exacerbate inequality and the negative impact on their livelihoods. -
19-Jul-2018 Jakarta Post Secrecy in RCEP trade deal threatens Asian democracies
With a global trade war looming and public faith in corporate globalization at an all-time low, secrecy in trade deals cannot be accepted. People have a right to know what is being negotiated in their name.
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AFTINET RCEP page
Australia Fair Trade and Investment Network’s campaign page on RCEP -
MSF RCEP page
Medecins Sans Frontiere’s access to medecine campaign page on RCEP -
NO RCEP regional week of action
Facebook page maintained by the Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development for the regional week of action against the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, 10-15 October 2016. -
RCEP Legal
Legal documents and analyses relating to the Regional Economic Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP)
Links
RCEP resistance
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30-Jul-2018 IGJ
IGJ Sampaikan Sejumlah Catatan Merah dalam Perundingan RCEP
Direktur Eksekutif Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) Rachmi Hertanti menyampaikan beberapa catatan merah yang harus diperhatikan oleh negosiator terkait dengan bab investasi pada perundingan RCEP ke-23 di Bangkok, Thailand, diantaranya soal ISDS, performance requirements dan export taxes. -
26-Jul-2018 Peoples Dispatch
RCEP: People’s movements resist free trade agreement
Organizations across the Asia Pacific region have come together to oppose the secrecy surrounding the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
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25-Jul-2018 IGJ
Oral Statement: Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) for the 23rd round RCEP negotiation, Bangkok, Thailand, July 23rd, 2018
Redlines for investment provision in RCEP negotiation -
25-Jul-2018 La Via Campesina
RCEP negotiation must stop, demands Assembly of the Poor, Thailand
Free trade negotiation never benefits the poor. But it gives opportunities for the capitalist transnational corporations to control and dictate the food and agriculture systems absolutely. -
23-Jul-2018 Peoples Dispatch
Activists gather in Bangkok to discuss countering RCEP
The deal is likely to deal a huge blow to the less developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region and benefit big corporations and the richer countries. -
20-Jul-2018 APWLD
Peoples movements reject the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
More than 80 participants representing trade union, farmers, indigenous peoples, health and patients networks, women’s organisations, academia and civil society organisations from the region have gathered in Thailand on the sidelines of the 23rd round of RCEP negotiations. -
20-Jul-2018 Friends of the Earth International
Secret RCEP trade deal fails international standards of transparency, experts warn
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving 16 nations from Asia-Pacific will impact the lives of over three billion people, yet a new study reveals how the deal fails international standards of transparency and public engagement. -
19-Jul-2018 APWLD
No RCEP campaign: Thai women’s groups reject RCEP
Women’s rights organisations from Thailand say NO to RCEP as the neoliberal free trade agreement will only exacerbate inequality and the negative impact on their livelihoods.
