India weighs trade pact concerns ahead of key Bangkok meet

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting on RCEP, a proposed trade agreement between 10 Asean states and six other countries, to assess negotiations that have entered the last phase amid considerable pressure on India to join the mega free trade pact, according to officials familiar with the matter.

However, domestic industry and affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have expressed concerns about RCEP possibly leading to a deluge of Chinese goods in the Indian market.

The meeting, attended by home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce minister Piyush Goyal and external affairs minister S Jaishankar, came ahead of a meeting of trade ministers of the 16 countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Bangkok during October 10-12.

Goyal is expected to participate in the Bangkok negotiations, which will probably be the last meeting of the trade ministers of the proposed RCEP states — 10 members of Asean (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).

A joint statement issued after the last such meeting in Thailand in September said ongoing global uncertainties had added to the urgency to conclude RCEP.

DOMESTIC INDUSTRY HAS EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT RCEP POSSIBLY LEADING TO A DELUGE OF CHINESE GOODS IN THE MARKET