On what date did the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership enter into force?
Answer
1 January 2022
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership entered into force on 1 January 2022.
The agreement required ratification by at least six ASEAN countries and three non-ASEAN signatories before it could take effect. That threshold was reached in late 2021, allowing the pact to begin operating at the start of the following year.
The first participating parties were Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. South Korea joined the agreement's implementation later in January 2022, while Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines followed through their own ratification processes.
RCEP had been signed on 15 November 2020 after years of negotiations. It is separate from the CPTPP, which entered into force earlier, in December 2018, and has different membership and rules.