RCEP will be signed in 2020 without India. The largest trading bloc is here.

[Rakesh]

We didn't join because we are not ready. We are not in position to compete with most of the ASEAN countries in manufacturing. You can call it our inefficiencies, but this is reality. Vietnam took advantage of recent trade war between China and US. We couldn't initiate major reforms to boost manufacturing.
so, joining RCEP will not help our economy.

 

[Genghis khan1]

Pakistan should integrate into this trading bloc. And India should not be allowed to join.

Unless Pakistan can compete in exports market, these trading bloc aren’t much value to Pakistan.

 

[conworldus]

Unless Pakistan can compete in exports market, these trading bloc aren’t much value to Pakistan.

Trade deals are not entirely about import/export. They facilitate process, standards, rules, market access, which attracts investment. When you have a framework in place with streamlined processes, it would make it a lot easier to invest and manufacture. I have not read the detailed RCEP rules, but I hope that it lives up to the C (Comprehensive) in its name.

We didn't join because we are not ready. We are not in position to compete with most of the ASEAN countries in manufacturing. You can call it our inefficiencies, but this is reality. Vietnam took advantage of recent trade war between China and US. We couldn't initiate major reforms to boost manufacturing.
so, joining RCEP will not help our economy.

One of the key reasons less developed countries join trade pacts is to use it as incentive for admittedly extremely difficult domestic reform, because you would be going up against some deeply entrenched interest groups. Your PM Modi simply caved to the domestic interest groups. India is missing one train after another and it is solely because your government lacks the political will and vision. Submitting to nationalistic jingoism and selling it as "courage" is just so much easier than implementing difficult and yet necessary reforms.

 

[Krptonite]

Nice, India is just a regional troublemaker, and it is better to kick them out.

Pakistan and Iran should be welcomed to join this trading bloc.

Do find out the difference between opting out, kicked out and not even considered.

You'd find Iran and Pakistan in the last category.

With all said, I have always believed that including India in the talks in the first place was a mistake. The deeply entrenched political and business interest, outdated ideology, and nationalistic zeal (based mostly on prejudice and hatred) in India make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for India for form any sort of business pact that's not totally one-sided.

In any case, the conclusion of the RCEP negotiation would form a beautiful and powerful trading bloc in Asia, and serve a big counter to the United States, which has been throwing its weight around threatening everyone. China has a lot of older industries to shift abroad, and South East Asia with its enormous population (i.e. Indonesia) and logistic convenience would be able to benefit from such shift and provide substantial employment. This is a truly win-win agreement and congratulations to every signatory nation. I hope that more countries would join later and this pact can work closely with CPTPP and bring prosperity to all.

India's a better market to export to than to buy from. You can blame our inefficient policies and as you have rightly pointed out, politician-business nexus does play a role, but GOI is facing stiff domestic pressure against signing this treaty.

At present we cannot compete with asean, Australian and new Zealand. Currently our dairy producers can't compete with Aus and NZ.

Pakistan should integrate into this trading bloc. And India should not be allowed to join.

The GoP is most welcome to dictate the ASEAN and the global community with whom they can and cannot trade with, along with what policies they can and cannot pursue.

The GoP is also welcome to ask for inclusion in any treaties that it has not been initially approached for.

 

[Nan Yang]

We didn't join because we are not ready. We are not in position to compete with most of the ASEAN countries in manufacturing. You can call it our inefficiencies, but this is reality. Vietnam took advantage of recent trade war between China and US. We couldn't initiate major reforms to boost manufacturing.
so, joining RCEP will not help our economy.

Protecting your local industry is a double edge sword. Without external competition there is no incentive to improve. Your manufacturing industry will fall further behind.

 

[Krptonite]

Protecting your local industry is a double edge sword. Without external competition there is no incentive to improve. Your manufacturing industry will fall further behind.

Aptly put, I feel this might be delaying tactics untill PM Modi's reforms (enacted or planned) effects place us more competitively on the international stage.

At present there is risk of domestic industries dying out to more advanced ones and trade gap widening further under the current conditions.

 

[Nan Yang]

Aptly put, I feel this might be delaying tactics untill PM Modi's reforms (enacted or planned) effects place us more competitively on the international stage.

At present there is risk of domestic industries dying out to more advanced ones and trade gap widening further under the current conditions.

If I remember correctly, same thing happened during the last Indian government under Manmohan Singh. Didn't Singh open India to Walmart then backtrack? Blocked by the opposition ... Modi's party.

Quote
With his government seemingly paralyzed by corruption allegations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tried to set the stage for a bold winter season, betting that the country's future depends on the government's ability to push through economic reforms. But now it looks as though he will have to backtrack on his first big ticket play since the 2008 nuclear pact with the United States, putting a plan to open up the retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI) in a deep freeze.

 

[casual]

I don't understand why India is so bad a manufacturing with labor prices practically free.

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

I don't understand why India is so bad a manufacturing with labor prices practically free.

Indians in India are lazy and unreliable, they don't have the Confucian work ethic and discipline to succeed. Indians here in Australia tend to be hardworking though.

 

[obj 705A]

pulling out of the RCEP was the correct dicision for India, it's true that in order for your industries to grow better you need competition, but the thing is... how can you compete if you are dead! because if India joins RCEP then what would happen is that what ever little industries India has would die out, it's just like what the times of india said.. ASEAN is already integrated with China's supply chain but the same thing cannot be said for India, ofcourse India is the only one to blame for that, if India chose to enhance it's relations with China instead of using China as a convenient bogeyman to gain popular support then China would have had no problem establishing a China-India economic corridor, if China had built ports, rails roads etc in India that connect China & India then India would have become very attractive for foreign industrial investment to export to China.

 

[Krptonite]

If I remember correctly, same thing happened during the last Indian government under Manmohan Singh. Didn't Singh open India to Walmart then backtrack? Blocked by the opposition ... Modi's party.

Quote
With his government seemingly paralyzed by corruption allegations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tried to set the stage for a bold winter season, betting that the country's future depends on the government's ability to push through economic reforms. But now it looks as though he will have to backtrack on his first big ticket play since the 2008 nuclear pact with the United States, putting a plan to open up the retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI) in a deep freeze.

Ultimately It benefitted the local players, local knockoffs of walmart are plenty and more attuned to our market choices/needs.

The populace has a very anti colonial mindset, any whiff of a foreign brand seen as taking undue advantage is enough to stall if not outright kill any trade deals.

The current deal faced heavy domestic opposition, it was hoped that on the major points raised by the opposition, there could be some headway, but our own deficiencies mixed with unequal trade concessions made it impossible to exact equal benefits.

Personally I feel it was the right call, we need work on our deficiencies and not be pressured into agreements inimical to our interests.

 

[OIO]

Ultimately It benefitted the local players, local knockoffs of walmart are plenty and more attuned to our market choices/needs.

The populace has a very anti colonial mindset, any whiff of a foreign brand seen as taking undue advantage is enough to stall if not outright kill any trade deals.

The current deal faced heavy domestic opposition, it was hoped that on the major points raised by the opposition, there could be some headway, but our own deficiencies mixed with unequal trade concessions made it impossible to exact equal benefits.

Personally I feel it was the right call, we need work on our deficiencies and not be pressured into agreements inimical to our interests.

India is still an alternative of China for the West.

 

[Krptonite]

India is still an alternative of China for the West.

It's a dog eat dog world, interests converge and diverge, good diplomacy draws advantages when they converge and minimises disadvantages when they diverge.

National interests are paramount, there's no such thing as friends.

 

[AndrewJin]

Great news.

 

[OIO]

It's a dog eat dog world, interests converge and diverge, good diplomacy draws advantages when they converge and minimises disadvantages when they diverge.

National interests are paramount, there's no such thing as friends.

East or West India has to make decision, the difference from Cold War is that the West economy is not as good as before.