The RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership)
Agreement is being negotiated among 10 ASEAN
members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and their six
free-trade pact partners Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New
Zealand.
India decided not to join the bloc, in its
current form for that. ‘Current structure doesn’t address concerns’Accordingly, during the third
RCEP Leaders Summit held on November 4, 2019, in Bangkok, India
conveyed its position that current structure of RCEP did not address the
outstanding issues and concerns of the country.
“There has been no change in India’s position since then,”Goyal said while he was replying to a question
about whether the government is re-considering joining the agreement. The remarks assume significance as in
NovemberNitiAayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stated that India
should be a part of the RCEP.
Goyal also said that India’s imports from China
have jumped to $101.74 billion in 2023-24 from $70.32 billion in 2018-19.
However, exports dipped to $16.66 billion in the last financial year from $16.75 billion in 2018-19. “Most of the goods imported from China are capital goods, intermediate goods, and raw materials, and are used for meeting the demand of fast-expanding sectors like electronics, telecom, and power in India,” he said.