Abstract
On November 15, 2020, 10 Southeast Asian economies, joined by Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, formed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – the world’s largest trading bloc, representing about a third of the global economy (BBC 2020). This comprehensive agreement covers import tariffs and other market access barriers, investment facilitation, standardization of rules and procedures, and economic and technical collaboration, among other areas.