The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed in 2020 between ASEAN and five partner countries (Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea), is the world's largest free trade agreement (FTA), covering 30% of global GDP. RCEP was built on commitments made in the framework of ASEAN's previous FTAs with the aforementioned partner countries. RCEP is expected to eliminate about 90% of import tariffs within 20 years of coming into force.
The study focuses on:
(i) an overview of related commitments, assess the structure of trade in goods according to the supply chain and investment relationship between Vietnam and RCEP countries;
(ii) analysing the tariff reduction roadmap and rules of origin between Vietnam and RCEP countries, thereby assessing the impact on the supply chain in Vietnam;
(iii) proposing several policy recommendations for FDI attraction and supply chain improvement for Vietnam. Apart from general analysis, the study focuses on several supply chains in the manufacturing industry, including electronics, automotive and textile, which are currently attracting special attention due to their large proportion of exports and imports. The impact of RCEP on reshaping supply chains in these industry groups in the medium and long term will impact Vietnam's future growth, investment and exports.
The full research in English can be found here.
