RCEP versus CPTPP

The first two decades of the 21st century saw a process of competitive regionalisation going on in the Asia-Pacific region. On the one side, there has been the evolution of the ASEAN plus-system leading to the mega regional Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ( RCEP ), and on the other side there is the originally P4-founded, then US -driven Trans-Pacific Partnership ( TPP ) which led to the open and dynamic CPTPP -11. From an ASEAN perspective, the two initiatives have not only a different base and reach, but also a different level of ambition and potentially different consequences. Based on interviews and written sources, this article compares the two initiatives and their possible impact from an actors’ perspective, with a special focus on Indonesia (a member of RCEP ) and Vietnam (a member of both RCEP and CPTPP ). Both initiatives have the potential to transform the institutional framework that determines how companies are doing business in the region, but the changes triggered by them are slow, selective, and uneven. RCEP is consolidating the economic integration of the region, rather than opening up new avenues for it. The impact of the new agreement will depend to a high degree on its effectiveness on the ground: will it make cross-border trading effectively easier and contribute to overcoming the FTA utilisation problems

Asian studies · Competitive advantage · General partnership · Regionalisation · Strategic partnership · Global Health and Epidemiology · Global Political and Economic Relations · Global trade and economics