RCEP: India prepares final list of products to counter Chinese imports

Delhi may keep duties on some products, stick to an import ceiling

Aware of its massive trade deficit, India is preparing a final list of products on which it may retain import tariffs for China in the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, said official sources.

The government has been preparing such a list for a while now, based on its plan of a “differential tariff reduction”. China, which has benefited the least, has opposed this move, along with richer economies such as Australia and New Zealand.

“Considering our sensitivity to imports from China, this has been the case throughout,” said a senior government official, who did not want to be named, adding: