India's RCEP Predicament in an Era of Indo-Pacific

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's piece on 'India's RCEP Predicament in an Era of Indo-Pacific' has been published in Korean at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), on April 22, 2020.

The piece essentially argues that in a post-COVID 19 period, Asia-Pacific economies will be struggling to restructure and support their financial structures. In this situation, certain areas India wanted to be included in RCEP like a rules of origin clause and protection against strong influx of foreign goods in national markets will begin to sound more favourable than before. Conclusion of the RCEP can be the stimulus to the Asian economies that need to deal with a post-coronavirus economic breakdown, but the same will have to be revised in a manner where national requirements will be adequately addressed, leading to free-trading regional economic environment.

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