India is being pressed by the US, and India can return to the world's largest trading block

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. US President Donald Trump imposed the highest 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% fine for buying Russian oil. (Reuters) Summary India left the local comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) in November 2019, just before the treaty was signed, citing concerns about market access, the larger trade deficiency and the risks to farmers, domestic manufacturing and small businesses. New -delhi: Printed by the increasing trading tension with Washington and with its relations with Beijing on the Mend, New -Delhi is warming up to a deeper embrace of the East by giving a possible return to an eastern trade block that resulted in almost five years ago. According to two senior government officials who are aware of the matter, India weighs the possibility of rejoining the local comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP), a trade group of 15 countries. India left the group in November 2019 just before the agreement was signed, citing concerns about market access, the larger trade impairment and the risks to farmers, domestic manufacturing and small businesses. According to one of the officials quoted above, internal discussions in the Indian government have begun re -evaluating the costs and benefits of RCEP membership in the light of the global supply chain re -alignment, tariff wars and the urgency of the diversification of export markets. The second official quoted above said: “The fresh reconsideration is being investigated as part of a broader strategy to deepen India’s trade involvement with neighboring countries, especially after tense trade talks with the US.” Both officials spoke with mint on condition that they were not mentioned. In the latest development, China exported on rare earth magnets, fertilizers and tunnel-nominating machines for India lifted up after a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Subhanyam Jaishankar, a move that is seen as a thaw in India-China trade relations. India, on its part, weigh easier rules for Chinese investments in selected sectors as part of another step to improve ties before the Premier Narendra Modi’s visit to the eastern neighbor to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, as reported on August 18. The research and information system for developing countries (ris), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had the task of conducting an impact study that India became a member of the RCEP, especially as the Trump tariffs are expected to remain in place for a long period of time, the second official said. “India insists on ensuring written insurance from China and Asean countries to ensure greater market access for Indian products to make the treaty a more balanced agreement,” the first person said. “The idea at this time is largely in terms of the opportunities that an FTA can create, and India has also made some changes,” says Sachin Chaturvedi, director general of Ris. ‘If you look at trade compatibility and scope, the ambit in which we had earlier thought of two- or three-level tariff structures, and the new momentum we see in the trade relations of India-China, should both be taken into account. Then a framework for assessment must emerge. ” Inquiries sent to the spokesmen of the Prime Minister’s office, Chinese Embassy in New -Delhi, and the Commerce Ministries, remained external matters unanswered until per time. The RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement. According to the global economy, a UK-based data and analysis platform, the RCEP group accounted for 32.6% of the global GDP in 2025 and more than 2.35 billion people. The trade block consists of 15 member states, including all Asean member states -Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -Plus China, Japan, Southern Corea, Australia and New Zealand. Japan and Singapore especially included a special provision that India could return to the block at any time. The US experts said punishment tariffs push the Eastern economies to make RCEP a more compelling platform. “The US under President Donald Trump imposed 15-20% rates on several Ashean economies, with higher duties of 40% on Laos and 19% on Cambodia,” the Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of China studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). “Such tariff barriers have made exports uneconomical, which forced these countries to reconsider their trading options within the RCEP framework.” Trump, meanwhile, imposed the highest 50% tariffs on India, including a 25% fine for buying Russian oil. The first set of duties came into effect on August 7, while another 25% will come into effect on August 27. “Since both China and India are one of the largest markets in the region, it is essential that they work out a more workable arrangement to effectively utilize the RCEP platform,” saysesh Parulekar, assistant professor in international relations at Goa University. “Without mutual understanding between the two, the benefits of such a mega trading treaty will remain underutilized.” Why India left RCEP in 2019, India’s earlier opposition was formed by important problems such as an unfavorable trade balance with China, the fear that Chinese goods would flood through third countries, and the plan of New Zealand to deliver milk and milk products to India that would harm India’s small farmers and milk cooperatives, experts said. “China used Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and other Asean countries as platforms to redirect export to India under existing free -trading arrangements, which led to charges of unfair trading practices,” Kondapalli said. “Out of nearly 14,000 tariff lines offered by China under its trade treaty with India, Beijing has exploited increasingly indirect channels, which has become an important point for New Delhi.” In the current setup, India’s strongest export sectors, such as pharmaceutical products and IT services, have no market access to China. of the thawing in India-China Relations, a new study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) has called on a recalibration of India’s trading strategy with Beijing, pointing out that the trade deficit recorded a record of $ 99.2 billion in FY25. China from $ 94.57 billion in FY22 to $ 113.45 billion in FY25. Previously. Ten times the current exports. To address, it recommended that India and China set up a joint task force to solve NTBs, and improve transparency through fair testing and communication with the WTO. China is unrealistic, given its role in global value chains. The Mint News app mode to get daily market updates.