CDS (I) 2024 General Knowledge · Question 114 of 120

Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. Statement 1 describes RCEP accurately: it is an ASEAN-led free trade agreement joining the ten ASEAN members to those partners with which ASEAN already had free trade agreements — Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. Statement 2 is also correct: India took part in the negotiations from the beginning but announced in November 2019 that it would not join, and the agreement was signed in November 2020 without it. India's stated reasons were the risk of a surge in Chinese imports, an unsatisfactory base year for tariff cuts, inadequate protection for agriculture and dairy, and the absence of credible safeguards.

• (a)1 only — Accepts the description of RCEP but denies that India stayed out. India was in the negotiations for years, which is what makes this option tempting, but it did not sign.
• (b)2 only — Accepts India's withdrawal but rejects the description of RCEP, when in fact RCEP is precisely an ASEAN-plus-partners arrangement built on ASEAN's existing free trade agreements.
• (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Rejects both, which requires believing either that RCEP is not ASEAN-led or that India is a member — neither is the case.

RCEP grew out of ASEAN's habit of signing separate free trade agreements with each of its large neighbours, which left exporters facing a tangle of different rules of origin. The idea was to fold those bilateral arrangements into one instrument with common rules, so that a product assembled from parts sourced across the bloc could still qualify for preferential tariffs. It came into force from 1 January 2022 and is, by the size of the economies covered, among the largest trade blocs in the world.

Both statements here are testing memory of a decision rather than of a treaty text, so anchor them to the two dates that matter: India walked away in November 2019, and the agreement was signed in November 2020. A student who remembers only that India was 'in the RCEP talks' will pick option (a). It is equally important not to overcorrect — India's absence from RCEP does not mean India has retreated from trade agreements generally; since walking out it has concluded arrangements with the United Arab Emirates and Australia and has continued negotiations with other partners. The RCEP door was also left ajar: the participating countries recorded that India could join later if it chose.

• RCEP joins the ten ASEAN members with Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.
• India took part in negotiations but announced in November 2019 that it would not join.
• The agreement was signed in November 2020 and entered into force on 1 January 2022.
• India's objections centred on a possible import surge from China, the base year for tariff reduction, and protection for agriculture and dairy.

• Assuming participation in negotiations means membership of the agreement.
• Confusing RCEP with the Trans-Pacific arrangement — different membership, different origin.
• Thinking India's exit from RCEP means it has stopped signing trade agreements.

As a two-statement item testing what RCEP is and whether India is in it. Both halves have been asked before in UPSC and CDS papers, so they are worth learning as a pair.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership entered into force in which year?

  • (a)2019
  • (b)2020
  • (c)2022
  • (d)2024

  Answer(c) 2022 — signed in November 2020, it entered into force on 1 January 2022.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following is NOT a party to RCEP?

  • (a)Japan
  • (b)New Zealand
  • (c)India
  • (d)Republic of Korea

  Answer(c) India — it negotiated but announced in November 2019 that it would not join.