RCEP Exit Saved India's Manufacturing From 'Death Knell': Piyush Goyal
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal claims withdrawing from the RCEP trade bloc prevented a surge of Chinese goods and saved India's manufacturing sector.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asserted that India's strategic decision to opt out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019 acted as a shield for the domestic industry, preventing what he termed as a "death knell" for the country's manufacturing sector.
Speaking at the ISID-IDRA Fourth National Conference, Goyal emphasized that joining the massive trade bloc would have left Indian manufacturers dangerously exposed to an onslaught of Chinese products, potentially stifling industrial growth across the nation.
The Logic Behind the Withdrawal
Goyal detailed the composition of the RCEP, which includes 15 nations: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He argued that India already had established trade frameworks with most of these partners, making the overarching RCEP agreement redundant for everyone except one specific partner.
- ASEAN, Japan, and Korea: India already possessed free trade agreements with these nations.
- Australia: Negotiations were in an active stage and could have been easily concluded.
- New Zealand: Bilateral trade was negligible, totaling only USD 350 million at the time.
According to the Minister, China was the only remaining piece of the puzzle. He noted that while the previous administration under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had initiated participation in the negotiations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ultimately reviewed the proposal and decided it failed to meet the guiding principles India had set for the talks.
'A Nation of Salesmen'
The Minister did not mince words regarding the potential consequences of joining the bloc. He pointed to the decision made in Bangkok on November 4, 2019, as the pivotal moment that preserved India's industrial future.
“I tell you that one single act on fourth of November, 2019, in Bangkok, is the reason that today we are discussing manufacturing and India's industry. Otherwise, we would have been a nation of salesmen and salesgirls marketing Chinese products,” Goyal stated.
The Global Trade Landscape
The RCEP officially came into effect on January 1, 2022, for its initial members. Meanwhile, India has shifted its focus toward addressing global market distortions. India has joined the United States and 13 other economies in demanding measures to eliminate non-market policies and structural excess production capacity that skew international trade.
This stance follows a joint ministerial statement emerging from the G20 Trade Ministers' meeting held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between September 30 and October 1, 2026. While US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that a breakthrough on these sticking points is not imminent, he confirmed that both sides are working diligently to resolve them.
Prospects of an India-US Trade Deal
On the front of bilateral relations, Piyush Goyal recently mentioned during the India-Netherlands Business Forum in The Hague that India and the US have concluded most of their discussions and are currently fine-tuning the details of a proposed trade agreement.
However, a different perspective was shared by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Munich Leaders Meeting. She suggested that negotiations on the India-US trade deal have reached a "plateau," implying that there is limited room for further concessions from either side.