Tag: RCEP

Why didn’t India sign the RCEP agreement?
Asia, Featured

Why didn’t India sign the RCEP agreement?

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), covers over 2.2 billion people and accounts for 30 per cent of the world’s economy. India decided to hold off on signing the agreement. It comprises of ten South East Asian countries viz., Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “The present form of the RCEP Agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles of RCEP. It also does not address satisfactorily India's outstanding issues and concerns. In such a situation, it is not possible for India to join the RCEP agreement." The RCEP aims to remove trade barriers, including tariffs...