Have your say

Get in touch to share your views on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

Background

What is RCEP?

  • The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a Free Trade Agreement that entered into force in 2022. It includes the ASEAN Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam) and five ASEAN FTA partners: Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
  • The 15 RCEP economies are home to approximately 2.3 billion people, representing around 30% of the world's population.
  • The RCEP economies account for approximately 30% of global GDP.

RCEP provides:

  • Access to growing Asia-Pacific markets.
  • Greater integration into regional supply chains.
  • More predictable and transparent trade rules with lower compliance costs.
  • Reduced compliance costs for Rules of Origin procedures.
  • Tariff elimination on around 90% of goods.
  • Enhanced opportunities for trade, investment, and economic cooperation.

For more information, see our RCEP overview and Key outcomes pages.

RCEP 2027 General Review 

RCEP Members have agreed(external link) to undertake a General Review (Upgrade) over the next year before beginning upgrade negotiations in late 2027. The Review will ensure that RCEP remains relevant and continues to deliver economic benefits to its countries. 

The Review will examine how RCEP is being implemented, identify areas for improvement, and consider the potential addition of new provisions on emerging issues that were not covered when the original agreement was negotiated. 

Reviews of other FTAs have typically included consideration of:

  • The progress of current implementation commitments;
  • Provisions focused on modern and emerging issues such as supply chain resilience, sustainability, trade barriers, inclusion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and digital trade;
  • Potential upgrades on areas including Services, Investment, Sanitary and Phytosanitary rules, and Rules of Origin, among others.

RCEP accessions for Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka

In parallel to the General Review, RCEP members have agreed a process to grow the FTA. RCEP is open for economies that are ready to meet the standards of the Agreement. In accordance with the agreed Procedures for Accession(external link), applicants must demonstrate:

  1. readiness and means to comply with all provisions and existing rules contained in the RCEP Agreement; and
  2. readiness to deliver commercially meaningful market access consistent with the ambitions of RCEP Parties.

Current applicants being discussed are Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.  Uruguay has also applied to join. 

RCEP Ministers will make the final decision by consensus on whether to finalise accession for each candidate.

What do we want to hear from you?

New Zealand has opened a public submission period from 21 October 2026 – 10 December 2026 via the MFAT website to help inform its approach to this General Review and accession process. 

We are also holding a virtual webinar on October 28 2026, 12:30-1:30pm (link to register here(external link)) to talk about opportunities in the ASEAN market and how the New Zealand Government can support exporters. There will be a Q&A session, and we encourage participants to bring questions.

These engagements provide an opportunity for New Zealanders to ask questions and share their views on:

  • what improvements might be made to RCEP to make it more relevant and effective; and
  • what opportunities and issues might arise from the accessions of Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Uruguay. 

This will help New Zealand identify priority areas, both in terms of a RCEP Upgrade and in relation to accession candidates. 

Survey questions

To help us understand stakeholders’ views on the General Review, and the impacts of accessions to RCEP, we seek your views on the following questions and any other comments. 

Please submit responses through the survey:  

Take the survey(external link)

  1. Do you use RCEP for importing or exporting? Why/why not?
  2. Which aspects of the RCEP Agreement are most valuable to you, and are there any areas where you would like to see change or retain the existing approach?
  3. Are there elements that could help improve, update or modernise RCEP to make it more useful?
  4. What factors should New Zealand consider when assessing new economies joining RCEP? For example, are there particular sectors or outcomes that you consider especially important?
  5. Do you have any comments on market access opportunities or barriers for New Zealand businesses in the following economies: Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Uruguay?
  6. Do you have any other general comments on the RCEP agreement?

Closing date for submissions

The survey will close on 10 December 2026.

Further feedback can be provided any time after the formal submission period to RCEP@mfat.govt.nz. We are also happy to arrange in person or online meetings to discuss issues.

Or mail:

RCEP Coordinators
Trade Policy Engagement and Implementation Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Private Bag 18-901, Wellington

Next steps

Your feedback will inform our approach to both the RCEP General Review and the accessions processes for Bangladesh, Chile, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.
  
MFAT will collate comments and views from the online survey, the stakeholder engagement sessions and meetings. A summary of the feedback will be published on the RCEP – Have your say webpage. 

Please be aware that all responses may be subject to release under the Official Information Act 1982. No personal or identifiable information will be released as part of a response.
 
See more information about MFAT’s trade engagement processes.

Annex 1: information about each of the economies applying to join RCEP:

Bangladesh

New Zealand’s main exports to Bangladesh are dairy products, iron and steel. Our main imports from Bangladesh are apparel and textiles. Information about New Zealand's trade with Bangladesh is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

Chile

New Zealand’s trading relationship encompasses significant exchanges in primary goods, technology, and educational services. New Zealand’s main exports to Chile are dairy products, travel services and seeds/grains. Our main imports from Chile are fruits and nuts and wood products. The latest information about New Zealand's trade profile with Chile is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

Hong Kong

New Zealand's exports to Hong Kong are dominated by agricultural and horticultural products, and Hong Kong sells New Zealand manufactured goods. Between 40 – 60 percent of New Zealand exports to Hong Kong are re-exported to mainland China. The latest information about New Zealand's trade profile with Hong Kong is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

Sri Lanka

New Zealand has imported tea from Sri Lanka since the 1890s and has a long history of dairy exports to Sri Lanka, in large quantities since the 1990s. Milk products account for 97% of our current goods exports to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is also a rapidly growing market for New Zealand’s international education. Other than tea, Sri Lankan exports to New Zealand include apparel, rubber and aluminium. Information about New Zealand's trade with Sri Lanka is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

Uruguay

New Zealand’s main exports to Uruguay are paper products, travel services and pharmaceuticals. Our main imports from Uruguay are machinery, travel services and wood. Information about New Zealand's trade with Uruguay is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

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