- India pulled itself out of the RCEP deal in November 2019.
- Key Concerns:
- Trade Deficit: India already has FTAs with most RCEP countries and has trade deficit with all.
- Dumping: Feared dumping of products in India, especially from China.
- Rules of Origin: RCEP deal did not have proper provisions, allowing China to dump via other countries.
- Dairy Industry: Feared flooding of processed milk products from Australia/New Zealand, impacting 12.5 crore farmers.
- Market Access for Services: RCEP members not giving enough access to Indian labor and services.
- Investment Chapter: India cannot mandate technology transfer/know-how; cannot cap royalty payments.
- China Access: Signing RCEP would give China more access and cheaper products.
- Auto-trigger Mechanism: India sought mechanism to raise tariffs if imports crossed threshold, but not agreed.
- Base Year for Tariffs: India asked for 2014 as base year for tariff reduction, not met.