The RCEP and the CPTPP diverge on provisions covering the location of computing facilities, cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, source code and dispute settlement. In all these cases, the RCEP’s chapter 12 is much weaker than the CPTPP’s chapter 14, to the point of rendering the provisions meaningless in terms of liberalizing cross-border digital trade and data flows. The RCEP’s language is such that it allows member states to impose whatever national regulatory restrictions they wish, as long as they are applied in a non-discriminatory way (are applied equally to domestic and foreign businesses).

RCEP will connect about 30% of the world’s people and output