THE Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will come into effect by Jan. 1, 2022, as it has already reached the necessary quorum. As of today, 11 countries have ratified the RCEP: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and all non-Asean signatories (Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand). For South Korea, the RCEP will be in effect on the first of February. Yet, Indonesia has not ratified the agreement.
The RCEP is the largest economic bloc in the world. Even without India, the countries in the RCEP account for 30 percent of the world's population, 29 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), 27 percent of global trade and 29 percent of foreign direct investment (FDI). By comparison, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (or TPP) without the US (now called the CPTPP) represents only 7 percent of the world's population, 13 percent of global GDP, 15 percent of trade and 20 percent of FDI.
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