The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region between the ten ASEAN states (i.e. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and five of their FTA partners—Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan. The 15 member countries are responsible for 30% of the world's population and 30% of global GDP, making it the largest trade bloc.[1]
It was signed at the Vietnam-hosted virtual ASEAN Summit on 15 November 2020.[2][3][4] It officially took effect on 1 January 2022.[5]