Overview

During the last few decades, countries operating under the auspices of the Association of South East Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) and its partnering countries (usually referred to as ASEAN Plus Six) have been focusing their efforts upon the establishment of various free-trade deals and agreements that will allow for market integration and a reduction in trade constraints among participating countries.[1] After several successful bilateral free-trade agreements (“FTA”),[2] ASEAN and five of its partner countries have now successfully signed off on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”) agreement, which is the world’s largest-ever free-trade agreement to date, with its members accounting for around 30% of global Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) and a third of the world’s population.[3]