ISDS Case Map
RCEP
In recent years, observers have questioned whether investor–state arbitration will or should be a feature of the next generation of free trade and bilateral investment treaties.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal is still on track to be signed by the end of 2020, Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said.
Members of the trade bloc urged India to convey its initial response to the package by May 15 as the Indo-Pacific region braces for a post-Covid-19 economic order.
Given China’s influence gradually ebbing as a major supply chain hub in the region and Japan and Japan asking its investors to withdraw from China, new opportunities emerge for India to woo investment from these nations.
Stepping into the role that the United States could have had at the helm of TPP, Beijing has offered a deal that puts it firmly in a leadership role. Through RCEP, the future of the broader Asia-Pacific economy has a diminished role for the United States.
India sat out the latest round of negotiations for an envisioned 16-nation regional free trade agreement.
China’s economy is expected to grow this year, it is capable of generating the jobs and trade needed for recovery, and looks ready to lead. In contrast, the US economy is shrinking and champions of free trade and investment are lacking.
India plans to resume discussion on “outstanding trade issues” with China, including those related to the RCEP, once the Covid-19 situation stabilises.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) dialogue partners are advancing the review of legal texts, expecting the process to finish in July so the pact can be signed later in the year during the Asean Summit as scheduled.
With the new coronavirus pandemic hindering the progress of talks for the world's biggest free trade pact involving 16 Asia-Pacific countries, Japan may be forced to give up reaching the deal this year in the face of domestic opposition.
