Free Trade Agreements 2022

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement:

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) went into effect on January 1, 2022. The RCEP is currently the largest free trade agreement, with 15 countries as active members. Ten countries entered into RCEP on January 1, including Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. As of February 1, 2022, the Republic of Korea will also be a part of this agreement, and March 18, 2022 will see Malaysia enter into RCEP as well.

This agreement covers the trade of goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, and creates new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, for small and large-sized enterprises alike. Negotiations for the RCEP started in November of 2021 between ASEAN countries and their free trade agreement partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea).           

 UK Free Trade Negotiations:

The United Kingdom signed an FTA with Australia on December 16th, 2021, though the UK must wait at least three months before the agreement comes before Parliament for formal ratification.

Negotiations for an additional FTA between the UK and New Zealand began in June 2020, and on October 20, 2021 an ‘Agreement in Principle’ was announced. As of February 2022, both parties have agreed with most of the substance of the FTA, but the finalization has not yet occurred.

Another FTA involving the UK is the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This agreement currently consists of 11 countries, and the UK applied to join this agreement in February of 2021. Negotiations started in September of 2021, and the UK hopes to conclude discussions and formalize its inclusion in the CPTPP by the end of 2022.

Further FTAs under discussion include a digital trade FTA between the UK and Singapore, wherein an Agreement in Principle was announced on December 9, 2021. Another FTA between the UK and India is also under progress, as is a supplemental FTA between the UK and United States. The UK is also expected to start renegotiating current FTAs that exist with Canada, Mexico, and Israel. Also, since the UK does not have an FTA any countries that are a part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), they are hoping to start negotiations sometime this year.

With all these agreements being negotiated currently or recently put in place, there may be updates on the horizon for trade compliance in imports and exports. If you have any questions about these developing situations, or if you would like any additional info, please call Allyn at 239-489-9900 or email us at sales@allynintl.com.  

Contributor: Emmalee Crane

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.