Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia is a Japanese led proposal for trade co-operation, free trade agreement, among the 16 present member countries of the East Asia Summit. All those movements and efforts were taken over by the following Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Countries involved
The 16 countries are:- Southeast Asia: the 10 members of ASEAN
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- East Asia: the three members of ASEAN Plus Three
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- South Asia and Oceania:
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Background
The CEPEA proposal was advanced by Japan in conjunction with the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. The two mechanisms are designed to be mutually supporting liberalisation and co-operation.
The details of the concept and its relationship with other proposals for the region, such as the East Asian Community, remain unclear. An alternative proposal based on the 13 members of the ASEAN Plus Three is called the East Asia Free Trade Agreement.
The Third East Asia Summit agreed that a final report on the CEPEA proposal was to be received at the Fourth East Asia Summit which was held in October 2009.
The Chairman's Report for the Fourth East Asia Summit stated:
19.We noted the final Phase II Report of the Track Two Study Group on
Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia and
welcomed the decision of our Economic Ministers who met in Bangkok
on 15 August 2009 to task the Senior Economic Officials to discuss and
consider the recommendations in the Phase I and II reports. CEPEA and
East Asia Free Trade Area could be examined and considered
in parallel.
The report for the ASEAN Plus Three meeting, held the day before with 13 of 16 of the same members, also stated:
13.We noted the final report of the Phase II feasibility study of the East Asia
Free Trade Area and welcomed the decision of 12th AEM Plus
Three Consultations in Bangkok on 15 August 2009 to task the Senior
Economic Officials to discuss and consider the recommendations in the Phase
I and II reports. EAFTA and Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East
Asia could be examined and considered in parallel.
The Chairman's Statement of the 16th ASEAN Summit stated:
30. We noted the initiatives being undertaken to take forward broader regional integration by considering the recommendations of both East Asia Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia studies together. We looked forward to receiving the progress report at the 17th ASEAN Summit in October 2010 and to discussing with our Dialogue Partners the future direction of regional architecture with ASEAN at its core.
By August 2010 working groups involving the 16 nations to study Economic Cooperation, Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Tariff Nomenclature had been formed.
In August 2011, East Asia Summit Economic Ministers welcomed a Chinese and Japanese joint 'Initiative on Speeding up the Establishment of EAFTA and CEPEA'.
East Asia Free Trade Agreement
13 of the 16 nations are also simultaneously negotiating an East Asia Free Trade Area.The two processes are not alternatives and both are being pursued simultaneously
Current arrangements
The 16 members are presently involved in a series of separate arrangements among the members of the grouping. The 10 members ASEAN have established the ASEAN Free Trade Area. Australia and New Zealand have the long established Closer Economic Relations.Between the 16 members bilateral and multilateral arrangements are in place or under negotiation.
ASEAN has the following arrangements in place:
- * the ASEAN–China Free Trade Area came into force on 1 January 2010;
- * a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Japan came into force on 1 December 2008;
- * the ASEAN Korea Free Trade Agreement, the trade in goods provisions came into effect on 1 June 2007, an agreement for trade in services was signed in 2007 and the trade in investments provisions were signed in 2009;
- * a free trade agreement with Australian and New Zealand AANZFTA that came into force on 1 January 2010;
- * the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement came into effect on 1 January 2010. India has formally signed the Trade in Services & Trade in Investments Agreement with ASEAN. The Services Agreement will open up opportunities of movement of both manpower and investments from either side between India and ASEAN. Nine out of ten ASEAN countries have signed the same. Philippines is completing its domestic procedure and it is expected to sign soon;
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China has the following additional arrangements in place:
- * China–South Korea Free Trade Agreement - came into force 20 December 2015;
- * China–Australia Free Trade Agreement - came into force 20 December 2015;
- * the New Zealand – China Free Trade Agreement came into force 1 October 2008;
- * a feasibility study on an arrangement with India was positively concluded in 2007;
Japan has the following additional arrangements in place:
- * negotiations with South Korea on an arrangement but which have been suspended since 2004;
- * Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement - negotiations with Australia on an arrangement;
- * negotiations with India on an arrangement;
- * conducting a feasibility study with New Zealand as of
South Korea has the following additional arrangements in place:
- * Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement - negotiations with Australia on an arrangement;
- * negotiations with New Zealand on an arrangement;
- * India and South Korea signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in August 2009;
Australia has the following additional arrangements in place:
- * as noted above Closer Economic Relations with New Zealand;
- * a feasibility study with India about entry into an arrangement;
India has the following additional arrangements in place:
- * a feasibility study with New Zealand about entry into an arrangement;
multiple additional bilateral arrangements between one or more ASEAN members separately.
In addition individual members of ASEAN may also have other arrangements in place beyond the arrangements negotiated by ASEAN as a bloc i.e., Singapore by itself outside of ASEAN has a series of FTAs.
Overview of current arrangements
The current status is summarised below.| ASEAN | China | Japan | South Korea | Australia | New Zealand | India | |
| ASEAN | |||||||
| China | Concluded | ||||||
| Japan | Concluded | Proposed with South Korea | |||||
| South Korea | Concluded | Proposed with Japan or bilateral | Proposed with China bilateral suspended | ||||
| Australia | Concluded | Negotiating | Negotiating | Negotiating | |||
| New Zealand | Concluded | Concluded | Feasibility Study | Concluded | Concluded | ||
| India | Concluded | Proposed | Concluded | Concluded | Negotiating | Negotiating |