What is the Difference Between FTA and CEPA?

The main difference between a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) lies in the scope and coverage of the agreements. Here are the key differences:

1. Coverage: While an FTA focuses mainly on goods and their trade, a CEPA provides holistic coverage of various areas like services, investment, competition, government procurement, and disputes.
2. Regulatory Aspects: A CEPA delves deeper into the regulatory aspects of trade compared to an FTA.
3. Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs): CEPAs often include MRAs that cover the regulatory regimes of the partner countries, recognizing different regulatory regimes on the presumption that they achieve the same regulatory objectives.
4. Ambitiousness: CEPAs are generally more comprehensive and ambitious than FTAs.

For example, the India-Korea CEPA covers a broad range of areas such as trade customs cooperation, investment, competition, intellectual property rights, and more. On the other hand, an FTA like the one between the US and the EU focuses on eliminating trade barriers by reducing tariffs or quotas on goods and services.

Comparative Table: FTA vs CEPA

The main difference between a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) lies in the scope and coverage of the agreements. Here is a table highlighting the differences:

An FTA is a free trade agreement that focuses primarily on reducing tariffs and barriers to trade in goods between partner countries, making it easier for them to access each other's markets. On the other hand, a CEPA is more comprehensive and ambitious, as it covers a wider range of areas such as services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, and dispute settlement. CEPAs also aim to reduce trade barriers gradually, rather than completely eliminating them, and often include a dispute settlement mechanism.