Nov 19, 2020
Experts stress that given rising tension on LAC, India did well by not signing RCEP.
As the year is standing on the last ends, the adamant decision made by India to stay out of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Dr. R. S. Sodhi, MD Amul, recalls the bold step taken at proper has led to the benefit of 100 million Indian dairy farmer.
The political move – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is essentially a China-led initiative for a regional trading bloc that will comprise one-third of the world’s population and 29% of the world’s GDP. Given the rising tensions at LAC, dairy experts marvel over the fate of the RCEP, had India joined it the bandwagon.
While stressing dairy as a business for countries like New Zealand and Australia, Sodhi said dairy farming is a matter of livelihood for us here in India. “While dairy is business for them, it is a livelihood for us”, were his words.
Sodhi has worked hard to bring forth the malicious impact of signing RCEP before the policymakers in the past, he stated that some of the countries were eager to penetrate the Indian market to export their surplus dairy products. They overlook and refrain to realize that it’s a question of livelihood for millions of Indian farmers and their families.
This partisan issue has polarized intellectuals and economists to that Sodhi said, “It’s a case of a few hundred supporters of liberal market v/s millions of Indian dairy farmers. The business newspapers or the business TV channels do not show you the feeling of crores of dairy farmers who are extremely happy with the govt move. Being not vocal, the media fail to gauge their true reactions”, Sodhi vehemently added.
The deal cited that India walked out of the deal when it was not heard by the members. India has been raising the issue of market access along with a protected list of goods and services to shield the domestic economy.
In a seminar held on Monday External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also talked on the same lines and said in the name of openness, “We cannot allow subsidized products from abroad and justify the same in the name of an open and globalized economy. India aims at an “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” policy where India could decide the rules”, he added.
It may be noted that Amul had voiced its concerns on the proposed agreement for the last several years. In the last few months of the finalization stage of the proposed agreement, Amul had several meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Commerce to sensitize the Government to the likely impact of offering zero duty imports of cheaper dairy commodities from Australia and New Zealand.