P

IYUSH GOYAL,the Union Minister of Commerce and

Industry, recently cancelled a trip to China as the Budget Ses-

sion of the Lok Sabha got extended until August 7 instead of

ending on July 26 as scheduled. Such cancellations happen

all the time, but this one was different. Goyal was expected to

represent India in a key ministerial meeting – the 8th round

of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Ministerial in Beijing – to stitch together a 16-nation free trade

agreement (FTA) that covers 45 per cent of the world’s popula-

tion and 40 per cent of global trade. Although high-level offi-

cials represented India, the absence of the political leadership

only deepened the suspicion that India is reluctant to open up

its economy to global free trade, but the country is not willing

to admit it. RCEP has its pitfalls, though. India already has an

FTA with ASEAN, the 10-country bloc that remains the core

of RCEP discussions. Besides, it has bilateral agreements with

two others – Japan and South Korea. Although these

TRADE

SHACKLES

ILLUSTRATION By RAJ VERMA

By JOE C.MATHEW

Lack of competitiveness,

paucity of risk capital,

infrastructure issues and a

strong rupee are preventing

exports from taking off.