The Indian Express: For Equality In Trade Pacts
For Equality In Trade Pacts
The Indian Express, Manash Kalita Neog, 15 October 2020
(Image courtesy of AP/PTI)
In November 2019, when India refused to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), there was a feeling that the country may have missed the bus to join a large market having some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. With multilateralism slowly losing shine, there were also concerns that India was stepping back from economic links to key global growth centres. But the spread of COVID-19 and China’s belligerence in the Himalayas has likely forced a rethink — perhaps RCEP is not the panacea for India that some thought it would be. At least not in its present form and given India’s current economic and strategic challenges.
The economic downturn due to COVID-19 has forced countries to take aggressive measures to support households and businesses within their borders. Naturally, at such a time, commitments to market access have likely dropped in priority. India is no different as policymakers try to steer the economy from an expected contraction with an eye on “self-reliance”. Such an approach would have been difficult as a signatory to RCEP, which would not have offered much protection for Indian businesses. Yet, it is not just short-term economics that perhaps justifies India’s stance vis-à-vis RCEP on hindsight: It makes for strategic prudence to leave manoeuvring space while dealing with China given the northern neighbour’s recent attempt to unilaterally rewrite borders.
