to be a bundle of bilateral agreements rather than a real plurilateral agreement (there will be
no common concession that is applicable to all TPP partners), future applicants will need to
negotiate their terms of participation on a case-by-case basis, not only in terms of what to offer
incumbents but also what is to be offered by incumbents. The high level of ambition of TPP and
the lack of developmental considerations will make it difficult for developing economies to join.
And while the future RCEP agreement is likely to have an accession clause, it seems it will be a
relatively closed club as participation in ongoing RCEP negotiations is open only to countries
that have an FTA with ASEAN.