India’s RCEP reticence

Eliminating various tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade must be balanced against domestic needs.

Despite the modern proliferation of free trade agreements, there is an enormous gap between free trade as it is understood and advocated by those who benefit from it, and free trade as it is practiced today. The understanding of economic integration is diverse and complicated – at its heart sits a dilemma whether negotiating countries at different levels of development, with varied and sometimes divided interests, can come to a common consensus on issues that can have a direct impact on an individual country’s domestic enterprises, growth, employment, and investment, and in turn also ensure mutual benefits for all.

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