Updated: November 18, 2020 7:22:15 am
Anand Sharma (R) says he will not join a ‘strategic mistake’, Jairam Ramesh says Delhi is right not to join the bloc.
A year ago, Congress had asked the government not to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Association Agreement (RCEP) and claimed credit when the Center decided to suspend its decision to join RCEP.
On Tuesday, the party remained divided, with leaders speaking in different voices and reflecting internal turmoil on key issues.
Party leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said there are “pros and cons of India joining RCEP” and criticized Foreign Minister S Jaishankar for having “criticized the trade agreements and praised the virtues of protectionism “.
Anand Sharma, former Trade Union Trade Minister and Deputy Leader of Congress in Rajya Sabha, told The Indian Express that not joining RCEP was a “strategic mistake” and a “leap back”.
Editorial | Seize the deal: trade lifts all ships, New Delhi must enter the RCEP tent at the most opportune time.
As Minister of Commerce, he had led India in the negotiations.
Congressional Leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, on the other hand, told The Indian Express that RCEP is a “China Regional Expansion Program” and argued that India did the right thing by not joining it.
RCEP is a regional trade agreement originally negotiated between 16 countries: ASEAN members and countries with which they have free trade agreements (FTAs), such as Australia, China, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and India.
Recalling that Congress had opposed signing the agreement last year, Ramesh said: “If anything, the events of the past year have vindicated our position.”
Last October, Ramesh, along with party leader AK Antony, had announced the congressional change of position on RCEP. Both were members of the UPA government, which had decided to join the RCEP negotiations in 2012. Antony and Ramesh had then argued that the economic context had changed.
READ | Foreign ex-secy for joining RCEP: India pushes itself to the margins of the economy
Leaders and trade ministers from 15 countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Association (RCEP) pose for a virtual group photo in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, November 15, 2020. (VNA via AP)
Ramesh had said at the time: “When the UPA government negotiated free trade agreements, the economy was booming. We did not have the economic crisis that we are having today. There was an investment boom. Exports were growing. Today exports are falling, investment is falling… then the economic context was totally different when the UPA negotiated the free trade agreements ”.
On Tuesday, Sharma said: “Not joining him (RCEP) is a strategic mistake. India must remain an integral part of the Asia-Pacific region for economic integration and for investment and trade. It is in the strategic and economic interest of India to be part of the Asia-Pacific integration process. We cannot be shortsighted and just look at the trade deficit figures, because there are essential imports that India has from some of these countries. “
He said: “India needs edible oil and we import palm oil in large quantities from Indonesia and Malaysia. From Indonesia and Australia, we also import coal in large quantities. We also import petroleum products from some countries, including Malaysia. Yes, there have been concerns about the huge trade imbalance with China, but that is a separate issue. We cannot be shy. If you want to be a global player, you cannot stay outside the largest trading bloc that covers almost 30 percent of world GDP. “
Sharma also said: “With a lot of effort that spanned years and years, India had been able to open the door because we were prevented from joining. The original concept was ASEAN plus three … It was India that pushed hard during our time (UPA) and turned it into Asean plus six … I was able to get the support of Japan and South Korea. So from a strategic point of view, we have regressed. We could always have negotiated safeguards to protect our interests. But being outside of that is not good. Staying out of the RCEP is a leap back, ”he said.
READ | RCEP: Door still open for India, can participate in meetings as ‘observer’
On Monday, Chidambaram tweeted: “RCEP is born, it is the largest commercial body in the world. 15 nations in our region are members of RCEP, India is not among them. There are pros and cons of India joining RCEP. But the debate has never taken place in Parliament or among the people or involving opposition parties. It’s another bad example of unacceptable centralized decision-making in a democracy. “
On Tuesday, he noted that the editorials in the English newspapers he reads included editorials “today that India would be better off if it were part of RCEP.” “I would reserve a final opinion until the congressional party has taken a considered position on the matter,” he tweeted. “I must, however, express my dismay at Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s speech yesterday at the Deccan Dialogue when he criticized trade agreements and praised the virtues of protectionism. Mr. Jaishankar is speaking in the language and with the words that I heard in the seventies and eighties! “
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