Metal cos fear other nations will gain at their cost once India enters RCEP

As a fallout of unequal trade concessions, copper imports have already grabbed a third of domestic consumption, while aluminium imports account for 60%

India's willingness to participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) has rankled the domestic metal sector producers. They feel that RCEP will swell imports further into India and enrich the partner nations at the expense of the local manufacturers.

Indian metal producers especially those in copper and aluminium are already besieged by a swarm of imports, strikingly from countries in South East Asia. These countries profit unduly from trade pacts like Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), leaving the domestic makers in the lurch. As a fallout of unequal trade concessions, copper imports now have grabbed a third of domestic consumption, while