Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA) is a Japanese led proposal for trade co-operation, free trade agreement, among the 16 present member countries of the East Asia Summit. All those movements and efforts were taken over by the following Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

The 16 countries are:

The concept has been in discussion stages since 2006 but gained momentum in 2008 and 2009 when India and ASEAN; and Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN respectively concluded free trade agreements.

The CEPEA proposal was advanced by Japan in conjunction with the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). The two mechanisms are designed to be mutually supporting liberalisation and co-operation.

The details of the concept and its relationship with other proposals for the region, such as the East Asian Community, remain unclear. An alternative proposal based on the 13 members of the ASEAN Plus Three is called the East Asia Free Trade Agreement (EAFTA).

The Third East Asia Summit agreed that a final report on the CEPEA proposal was to be received at the Fourth East Asia Summit which was held in October 2009.

The Chairman's Report for the Fourth East Asia Summit (25 October 2009) stated:

19.We noted the final Phase II Report of the Track Two Study Group on Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA) and welcomed the decision of our Economic Ministers who met in Bangkok on 15 August 2009 to task the Senior Economic Officials to discuss and consider the recommendations in the Phase I and II reports. CEPEA and East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) could be examined and considered in parallel.

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