NEWS DETAILS

Date: 18/10/2024

India should not reconsider joining RCEP, says GTRI

India’s decision not to join the RCEP was strategically sound and the core concerns that led India to opt out of RCEP in 2019 remain valid and have only been reinforced by subsequent developments, said the Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). World Bank’s suggestion for India to reconsider joining RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) is based on flawed assumptions and outdated projections. For developing countries like India, policy decisions must be rooted in real-world data and a thorough understanding of the long-term implications. India already has several functional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 13 out of 15 RCEP members, except New Zealand and China. The World Bank should focus on thorough, data-based analysis that considers the specific challenges and economic conditions of developing countries before offering solutions based solely on economic models, which should be just one factor, as per a report.
Source: Exim News Service: New Delh, Oct. 17