Keep the RCEP option open

By not joining the trading arrangement, India risks becoming a rule taker rather than a rule maker

India chose not to join the consensus reached at Bangkok in November last year when member countries decided that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would move to the final phase of text-based negotiations and conclude the agreement by the end of 2020. India was not prepared to accept a regional trading arrangement in which it had limited entitlement to deal with import surges. 

There were issues relating to rules of origin. This is inherent in dealing with an already regionally integrated trading network based on supply chains. Typically, a product from any of the trading partners is made up of