India has some reservations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It is not prepared to let its domestic industry smothered by the deluge of cheap goods from the other members, particularly China. The impact of Chinese imports has been such that India is threatened to become a country of importers and traders with domestic factories either cutting down their production or shutting down completely.

The annual year-on-year growth in Chinese imports was about nine per cent in 2014, which soared to 20 per cent in 2018. The trade deficit with China constitutes more than 40 per cent of India’s aggregate trade deficit. In quantum terms, Chinese goods constitute about one-sixth of all imports into India.

Countries in diverse stages of development, from Australia, China, Japan and India to the ten members of Asean, are part of the RCEP, besides South Korea and New Zealand. Once wrapped up, RCEP would foster the largest regional trading bloc, making up 25 per cent of global GDP, 30 per cent of world trade and 26 per cent of cross-country foreign direct investment flows the world over.

A modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement for an open trade and investment milieu in the Asia-Pacific region is the core objective of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.