India pulls out of a big proposed regional trade deal
Once again, the East Asia Summit falls short of expectations
MEASURED BY THEIR share of the world’s population (one-half) and of the global economy (more than one-third), it would have been the largest regional trade agreement ever finalised. So there was a sense of disappointment in Bangkok on November 4th when the would-be signatories of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) missed the deadline they had set themselves.
It was also a blow for the East Asia Summit, which is still struggling to establish itself as an unmissable gathering in the world’s diplomatic calendar. An annual institution set up in 2005, it suffered its third consecutive no-show from America’s president this year.
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