“We want India to be part of it (RCEP). Ultimately, India is impossible because India feels anxious. Its main anxiety is the asymmetric trade balance with China because they don’t have a free trade agreement with China, but what impact does it have on its own economy. And the impact of U.S. tariffs on Singapore. “It should have been 15, 16.” Ten, plus five, we got RCEP on the finish line and it is about to take effect. ”
“Today, we have lined up for RCEP. We have Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. You can see that you are interested in joining RCEP.”
The minister said Singapore’s view is actually a larger vision for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and RCEP, to create a free trade zone for the Asia-Pacific region. “Because if you combine the two, it actually casts a wide network in the Pacific. Similarly, even without the U.S., the economic logic of free trade and economic integration remains.”
It can be noted that among the RCEP members, Singapore and Japan are eager for India to join the organization at a later stage, even at the last minute of New Delhi.
Analysts point out that if India joins RCEP, the situation may worsen sharply as it faces zero tariff imports from China, risking further Sino-Indian imbalance.
