India firm on not joining RCEP pact: Industry min

India in 2019 decided not to join the mega free trade agreement RCEP as the pact was not addressing its concerns, and, since then, there has been no change in that position, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.

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. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Goyal said that the structure of RCEP did not adequately address the ambitions and concerns of India’s stakeholders. Due to that, India decided not to join the bloc, in its current form.

“There has been no change in India’s position since then,” Goyal said. The remarks assume significance as in November NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam stated that India should be a part of the RCEP.