Leaving RCEP: A missed opportunity?

India could have expanded trade and exported more to current partners if it had chosen to stay in the partnership

In November 2019, India decided to opt out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the latest and the world’s largest trading bloc comprising one-third of global GDP and trade. Indian industries and farmers’ associations have widely hailed this decision. The government’s reasons for opting out of the RCEP include possible flooding of cheap imports from China, increase in competition for Indian dairy farmers from New Zealand and Australia, and the existing trade deficit of $100 billion with RCEP countries.

In this article, we look specifically at India’s prospects in RCEP focusing on agricultural trade (RCEP accounts for one-fifth of