India is not actively considering joining the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) at present, government sources have told NDTV, pushing back against speculation of a rethink as New Delhi accelerates trade pacts with Western partners and selectively deepens bilateral deals across Asia.
"There is nothing on the table. We have not considered it," a government source told NDTV when asked if India might revisit the RCEP decision. Another source offered a blunt political read: "One way to look at RCEP is...it's in effect a China channel," indicating that India's core concern remains the bloc's China-centred trade dynamics.
The remarks came in the context of a broader explanation of India's trade strategy: prioritising bilateral agreements with key partners rather than entering large mega-regionals that could dilute India's ability to manage import sensitivities. Sources pointed out that outside China, India already has bilateral trade arrangements, completed or under negotiation with most RCEP members, implying that India's market access goals can be met without joining RCEP as a bloc.
Officials also referenced other regional frameworks under discussion, suggesting India is mapping its trade choices partner by partner. The thrust of the argument was that once India completes a critical mass of bilaterals, the question of whether to participate in larger frameworks may arise again, but for now, RCEP is not part of India's active policy agenda.
The government's stance is shaped by the same concern it voiced in the EU auto negotiations and agriculture market access: protecting "sensitivities" through calibrated liberalisation. In the EU deal, India agreed to open roughly 92% of tariff lines over time but used phased reductions, quotas and tariff-rate quotas in sensitive sectors. The RCEP decision, sources implied, is anchored in the fear that a broad tariff-cutting framework with China could constrain India's ability to manage exposure in precisely such sensitive segments.
At the same time, the sources highlighted that global trade is moving away from a uniform WTO-centred model towards a patchwork of bilateral deals as countries seek resilience after COVID-era supply-chain shocks and amid trade "weaponisation". In that environment, India wants flexibility: to deepen integration with some partners like the EU, UK and EFTA while avoiding structures that could amplify dependence on a single geography.
Sources also framed the India-EU agreement as part of a global shift towards "de-risking and diversification", noting that overdependence on one market or one source of supply is "perilous". That framing implicitly cuts against the case for RCEP, which India exited in 2019, citing concerns around market access, rules of origin and import surges.
For now, Delhi's message is continuity: bilateralism over bloc entry, calibrated openness over across-the-board liberalisation, and a clear red line against arrangements perceived to increase China-linked exposure. The government's emphasis on "nothing on the table" is also designed to signal predictability to domestic industry, which has remained wary of RCEP since India's withdrawal.
