Over 100 consultations on RCEP in last 6 years: MOCI

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry stated regarding RCEP negotiations on Saturday that “more than 100 stakeholders’ consultations have been held by the Department of Commerce and other lead ministries and departments seeking industry inputs for formulating India’s interests, covering a wide spectrum of the economy including agri, chemicals, petrochemicals, pharma, plastics, textiles, metals, auto and machinery.” The other departments involved in these discussions are those of Revenue, Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs, Economic Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Financial Services, and Telecommunication.

The ministry has entrusted eminent economists from India’s premier institutions like Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), IIM Bangalore and Centre for Regional Trade (CRT) to undertake independent studies on RCEP.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement being negotiated by 10 ASEAN members & their 6 trade partnersincluding India, China, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan.