New Delhi: The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday for not entering the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
“Staying away from RCEP is a decision in favour of country’s small businesses, farmers, dairy, data security and manufacturing sector. The SJM thank Modi for showing great diplomatic farsightedness in terming the present text of negotiations not in favour of people of India,” read the SJM statement, issued through Ashwani Mahajan, National Co-Convenor.
On Monday, India decided not to join the China-led RCEP, anticipating the impact it would have on the vulnerable sections of India.
The RCEP would have undone good works of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the last six months, it added.
“The agreement would have killed the ‘make In India’, Digital India, Skill India and various other avenues of job creation. We now request the government to review the faulty free-trade agreements (FTAs) and CEPA done with Japan, S. Korea and other countries,” it said.
The SJM had, earlier, applauded the efforts of Ministry of Commerce & Industries in convincing the ASEAN countries to review the RCEP free-trade agreement.
“The SJM, from the beginning, had requested the government to stay away from this pact. India has over $105 billion trade deficit with the member nations negotiating the agreement. Of this, $54 billion is with China alone. The agreement had no provisions for the bridging the trade deficit. In fact, the zero tariff on most products would have allowed Chinese firms to dump in our country. It would have wiped out the small and micro players,” it said.