India's RCEP stand not generic vis-a-vis trade; want balanced FTA with Europe: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India pulled out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) last year as joining it would have resulted in fairly negative consequences for the country's economy.  

"We saw that a number of our key concerns were not addressed. We had to take a call then whether to enter a trade agreement if our major concerns are not addressed," Jaishankar said during his address at an online discussion organised by the Centre for European Policy Studies.

'It is not in our interest to enter this agreement'

India on November 15 had opted out of the trade deal, which was signed by 15 Asia-Pacific nations, including China. Jaishankar's comments came three days after the signing of the RCEP agreement created the world's largest free trade area. The RCEP deal sealed on Sunday comprised 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five of the bloc's dialogue partners -- China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

"We took a call that given the way it is currently, it is not in our interest to enter this agreement because it would have fairly immediate negative consequences for our own economy," he said. "Because you are negotiating does not mean you have to suspend your ability to calculate at the end of the negotiation. I think we made those calculations. Very frankly, what we did with regard to RCEP is not a generic position vis-a-vis trade," said Jaishankar.

'We want a fair and balanced FTA'

India was part of the RCEP negotiations for nearly seven years. The unresolved issues included inadequate protection against import surge, lack of credible assurances to India on market access, non-tariff barriers and possible circumvention of rules of origin by certain countries.

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Referring to the long-pending India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), Jaishankar said, "We want a fair and balanced FTA", but added that what is fair and balanced is a subject of negotiation. "I recognise that an FTA with Europe is not an easy negotiation, probably in the world, it must be the most difficult negotiation. It is a very high standard FTA," he said.

The FTA talks have been stalled since May 2013, when both sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector. Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both sides have major differences on crucial issues.

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(With agency inputs)