Cabinet grants approval for Sri Lanka to join RCEP trade bloc
November 25, 2025 01:43 pm
The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the proposal for Sri Lanka’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and for the completion and submission of the initial questionnaire provided to Sri Lanka as necessary.
The ‘Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)’ is a comprehensive free trade agreement between 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five other regional countries that already have free trade agreements with ASEAN: Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
The agreement came into force on January 01, 2022, and it will be opened for accession by other prospective parties 18 months later, in July 2023.
Accordingly, under this agreement, steps must be taken by the parties to fully eliminate tariffs on 85% to 90% of their tariff rates. Through accession to this agreement, Sri Lanka will be able to diversify its exports and markets, as well as strengthen its participation in regional and global supply chains.
Accordingly, Sri Lanka had submitted a letter of intent to join the aforementioned agreement on June 28, 2023.
An initial questionnaire was issued to several countries, including Sri Lanka, on October 24, 2025, to collect basic information to evaluate the applicants’ compliance with all of the provisions and rules stipulated in the agreement and their willingness to provide commercially meaningful access in line with the objectives of the agreement.
Accordingly, the questionnaire must be completed before January 01, 2026.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the proposal presented by the Minister of Trade, Commercial, Food Protection, and Cooperative Development for Sri Lanka’s participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and for the completion and submission of the initial questionnaire provided to Sri Lanka as necessary.
