East Asia’s New Economic Agreement: RCEP, ASEAN Centrality and Global Trade Uncertainty

The East Asian Bureau of Economic Research at the Australian National University and the Regional Economic Studies Programme at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute co-organised a webinar titled “East Asia’s New Economic Agreement: RCEP, ASEAN Centrality, and Global Trade Uncertainty.” This webinar aimed to explore the potential for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to deepen economic cooperation and integration in East Asia. It also delved into the implications of RCEP for ASEAN, Northeast Asia, the trans-Pacific, and trans-Asian economic and political relationships with the United States and India. Additionally, the webinar discussed how RCEP fits within the multilateral trading system and its relation to other regional initiatives such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The event served as the launch for the latest issue of East Asia Forum Quarterly on East Asia’s Economic Agreement. Also, it marked the beginning of a new series on regional economic issues organised jointly by the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research and the Regional Economic Studies Programme.