RCEP members await India's approval as it bargains hard for concessions

Deadline set to be extended by a few months

As negotiations to finalise the long-overdue Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) enter the final stages, all eyes are on India as to whether it will take the plunge and agree to the world’s largest free-trade agreement (FTA) spanning 16 Asia-Pacific nations. According to diplomatic sources, except India, all the 15 RCEP member countries are on board in finalising the deal.

While no official statement was released after the ministerial meetings on Friday and Saturday, the pending issues on market access and services trade have not been resolved and continue to hold up an agreement, a source in the know said.