While Asia has been an exporting powerhouse for decades, it has not been particularly focused on buying and selling goods and services to neighbors.  This is changing. One thing that is missing, however, is a structure to manage an evolving economic landscape for Asia.   The existing institutional arrangements do not suit a future order very well.  There are only two organizations that might play a role:  the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).  The former consists of 10 countries in Southeast Asia while the latter includes 21 members, many of whom are not in Asia. However, 16 countries have spent years working on a trade arrangement for Asia:  the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  The 16 member governments (Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam) are struggling to complete negotiations on the FTA for November. The stakes for RCEP are greater than most participants imagine. If the world is, indeed, watching a new “Berlin Wall” moment, RCEP is likely to become a critically important part of the new world order.  It is the only readily available platform for managing trade and economic issues in Asia.