INDIA WON’T JOIN RCEP

There were indications that the 16 nations which would be part of the world's largest free trade pact, may proceed without India to announce a provisional agreement amid trade tensions continue between the US and China, pushing economic growth in the region to its lowest in five years. The deal is expected to be signed next year. In his address, PM Modi said the present form of the RCEP Agreement "does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles" or India's concerns. Citing the country's farmers, traders, professionals and industries, and workers and consumers, who have a stake in such decisions, he said: "When I measure the RCEP Agreement with respect to the interests of all Indians, I do not get a positive answer. Therefore, neither the Talisman of Gandhiji nor my own conscience permits me to join the RCEP". India has been forcefully raising the issue of market access and tariffs amid concern that the country might be flooded with cheap Chinese agricultural and industrial products once the deal is signed. The opposition Congress and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP's ideological mentor, have regularly expressed reservations about the deal, contending it would only flood the markets with cheap Chinese goods. The RCEP grouping includes 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and six FTA (Free Trade Agreement) partners of the bloc -- China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.