SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROVISIONS IN NEW-GENERATION FTAS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE RCEP AND CPTPP, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR VIETNAM’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Abstract: The context of deep international economic integration requires the inclusion of 
sustainable development issues (labor, environment) into new-generation FTAs. However, the 
approaches of major trade blocs differ significantly, exemplified by the Comprehensive and 
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive 
Economic Partnership (RCEP). This article aims to analyze and compare the sustainable 
development commitments in these two agreements to clarify two different regionalism trends. 
Using legal textual analysis, legal comparison, and synthesis methods, the study identifies core 
differences in the structure, content, and enforcement mechanisms of sustainability provisions. 
The findings indicate that the CPTPP contains separate, detailed, and highly binding chapters on 
labor and the environment, whereas RCEP largely omits these issues. Consequently, the article 
discusses policy implications for Vietnam in domesticating and implementing commitments, and 
in its strategic positioning amidst “competing regionalisms”.