RCEP still hanging as India’s issues ‘remain unsolved’

NONTHABURI, Thailand — The goal of finalizing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will have to wait until 2020, according to a joint statement issued Monday.

Leaders of the 16 Asia-Pacific countries included in the RCEP pledged to sign the agreement in 2020 after India’s issues remain unsolved.

“We noted 15 RCEP Participating Countries have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters1and essentially all their market access issues; and tasked legal scrubbing by them to commence for signing in 2020,” the statement read.

“India has significant outstanding issues, which remain unresolved. All RCEP Participating Countries will work together to resolve these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India’s final decision will depend on satisfactory resolution of these issues,” it added.

India had been reluctant to liberalize its market and had been a key sticking point in the several years of negotiation which commenced in 2012.

Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said this made it clear that only 15 countries had concluded for now and India would still have until 2020 to settle its pending issues.

“India now open to be identified as the one RCEP country that has pending issues on rules and market access, it is now clear only the 15 countries concluded for now since India has until next year to settle his remaining issues, and decide if he can still sign with the 15 countries next year,” Lopez said in a statement.

“So the assumption now is that they are in, but must settle outstanding issues and that we all want the 16 to sign next year,” he added.

RCEP is a free trade deal among the 10-member states of Asean plus its six trading partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

/atm