Digital Trade Regulation in the Asia-Pacific: Where Does It Stand? Comparing the RCEP E-commerce Chapter with the CPTPP and the JSI

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) including provisions on electronic commerce (e-commerce) or digital trade displayed explosive growth. This phenomenon was especially notable in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), a region that has demonstrated rapid development of e-commerce. This article provides an up-to-date review of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, focusing on its e-commerce chapter (Chapter 12). By evaluating the change in trends and developments of APAC PTAs covering digital trade, it demonstrates where the RCEP stands. The RCEP E-Commerce chapter is compared to the one in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to assess the scope of coverage along with points of convergence and divergence. The article also investigates the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce (JSI) and how the provisions in the latest text being negotiated compare to the e-commerce chapters in the RCEP and CPTPP. The article assesses the RCEP's key implications. Its core value lies on it being an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - driven negotiation that encompasses the three digital powerhouses of Northeast Asia (China, Japan and South Korea), promoting regional economic integration by bringing together many members who did not have prior common commitments while providing a flexible approach, through variations in schedules and broad exceptions to cater for national sensitivities.