
Fifteen countries, including Japan, China and South Korea, have signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a massive free trade agreement that covers much of East Asia. The creation of this free trade zone in the fast-growing Asian region is of great significance.
But India’s departure from the megadeal and the agreement’s relatively lax rules and standards leave it lacking. We would like to see continued efforts to grow RCEP, both by expanding the number of participating countries and by improving the quality of the trade pact.