Why India opted out of the RCEP agreement: Explained in six charts

India decided to walk out of the biggest regional trade partnership the world could have seen. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership could have given — possibly it still can — almost unrestricted access of each other’s markets to the members.
 
Some experts, in addition to the government, have maintained that the reason for the walkout is India’s adverse trade balance. However, many critics view this as a protectionist step.
 
The data shows India has been protecting its domestic interests for long. The average tariff on imports into India, according to the World
 
Trade Organization, went up between