Deep-dive Analysis of India’s decision to opt out from RCEP

Abstract

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a future free-trade agreement between the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its free trade agreement (FTA) partners. It is created with the essence to strengthen commercial ties and trade and investment-related events as well as to help minimize advancement gap between the parties. In the pre-RCEP era, countries in East Asia region have been increasing business and commercial relations with each other via FTAs. To expand and deepen this engagement among stakeholders and increase their involvement in economic growth in the region, the leaders of 15 partaking countries set up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The RCEP discussions include trade in goods & services, investment, and intellectual property, competition, technological collaboration, dispute resolution, e-commerce, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other issues. RCEP, which has been underway since 2012, would be the world's biggest economic deal by populace and GDP. A studyi from the Brookings Institution recommends that RCEP can possibly develop the worldwide real wages by $285 billion every year ifset up before 2030, which in total increase is twice that of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).