RCEP and India: The way ahead

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is undoubtedly a challenge but worth the effort with a resilient industry and reformative governance to help

India has taken the plunge and announced its willingness to remain within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The negotiations are expected to conclude by November 2019. Since a large part of the text remains to be concluded, the parties might agree on the broad contours of the agreement and continue to negotiate the nitty-gritty. It can be anticipated that the agreement will take effect only after a couple of years from the date of conclusion. This gives India some lead time to prepare for its implementation. Besides, as we understand from various discussions, much of India’s commitment vis-à-vis China