Trade talks in balance at Southeast Asian summit

India raises demand to create world’s largest trading bloc

BANGKOK: Plans to finalise an Asia-wide trade deal at a summit in Bangkok this weekend were uncertain after new demands raised by India in the negotiations to create the world’s largest trading bloc.

Southeast Asian leaders meeting in Thailand hope to make progress on the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) - which would comprise 16 countries that account for a third of global gross domestic product and nearly half the world’s population.

Talks are expected to continue on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Bangkok after a press conference was cancelled on Friday, raising questions whether ministers could reach an agreement in their last formal negotiations ahead of a summit on the regional partnership on Monday.

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Host Thailand has been pushing for a preliminary deal by the end of the year, keen to push ahead at a time when US-China tensions threaten to slow growth in the region.

A major sticking point has been demands from India, which is worried about a potential flood of Chinese imports. “It’s a fact India has put new demands which are difficult to meet,” said a person with knowledge about New Delhi’s negotiations.

Any breakthrough on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would boost confidence in export-reliant Southeast Asia that has been weighed down by the US-China trade war, with growth expected to slow to its lowest in five years.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2019.

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