CEPA stands for Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and CECA stands for Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. Recently India signed a CEPA with Japan and CECA with Malaysia. India had also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea. With Singapore signed CECA. The terms that make difference are “Cooperation” and “partnership”. Both these terms are synonymous with each other but the major “technical” difference between a CECA and CEPA is that CECA involves only “tariff reduction/elimination in a phased manner on listed / all items except the negative list and tariff rate quota (TRQ) items” , CEPA also covers the trade in services and investment, and other areas of economic partnership. So CEPA is a wider term that CECA and has the widest coverage.
Please note that usually CECA is signed first with a country and after that negotiations may start for a CEPA. For example, India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (CECA) was signed in December, 1998 and came into operation since March, 2000. India completed the tariff elimination programme in March 2003, Sri Lanka scheduled to reach zero duty by 2008. After that the two countries have since initiated negotiations in August 2004 on comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which covers trade in services and investment.
Please note that usually CECA is signed first with a country and after that negotiations may start for a CEPA. For example, India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (CECA) was signed in December, 1998 and came into operation since March, 2000. India completed the tariff elimination programme in March 2003, Sri Lanka scheduled to reach zero duty by 2008. After that the two countries have since initiated negotiations in August 2004 on comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which covers trade in services and investment.