The 24th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) and related meetings were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 18 to 27 October 2018. The TNC was held in parallel with the meetings of the Working Groups on Trade in Goods and Trade in Services, including their respective Sub-Working Groups, as well as the Working Groups on Investment, Intellectual Property, Electronic Commerce, and Legal and Institutional issues.

The focus of the round was to work towards achieving the Package of Year-End Deliverables adopted by Ministers at the 6th RCEP Ministerial meeting held 30-31 August 2018 in Singapore.

The meeting welcomed progress in market access negotiations, as well as the technical conclusion of the Chapter on Dispute Settlement. The meeting also noted progress in text negotiations across different areas.

Three stakeholder engagement sessions were held on 22-23 October 2018 with representatives of the business sector and civil society organisations. The events were participated by the TNC Leads and their delegations and provided an opportunity for civil society and business representatives to share their views and expectations of the RCEP negotiations.

The next officials' level meetings will be held from 9-11 November followed by a Ministerial meeting from 12-13 November and the 2nd RCEP Leaders Summit on 14 November, all in Singapore.