The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), covering Vietnam, the ten ASEAN members, and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, is the largest free trade agreement in the world by population. For sourcing purposes, its main practical value is not any single tariff cut, it is the common set of rules that now applies across all fifteen member countries.
Why the common rulebook matters more than any one tariff line
Before RCEP, a company sourcing components from multiple countries in the region had to track separate rules of origin under each country’s individual trade agreements. RCEP allows cumulative origin, meaning inputs from any member country can count toward the origin requirement for the finished product. That matters directly for supply chains that pull materials from more than one country in the region before final assembly happens in Vietnam.
What it does not do
RCEP’s tariff reductions are phased in gradually over up to twenty years for some product lines, and its terms are generally less aggressive than agreements like the CPTPP or EVFTA. It is a floor that standardizes trade across the region, not a replacement for the deeper tariff cuts available under Vietnam’s other agreements where they apply.
How we handle it
We check which agreement, RCEP or one of Vietnam’s other trade deals, actually gives you the best terms for your specific product and supply chain, and confirm your documentation supports the origin claim you are making.