India’s Economic Integration in Services with ASEAN: From Bilateral FTAs to RCEP

Abstract

Abstract Given the growing importance of services in Indian economy as well as in international trade, India has offensive interests in services and these are becoming an important part of India’s effort to economically integrate with global economies including Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This article analyses India’s economic integration with the ASEAN region in services trade and discusses how India’s services trade interests are taken into consideration by ASEAN members in their free trade agreements with India. It also discusses services-related aspects in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement, a proposed free trade agreement among ASEAN and its six FTA partners including India, from which India has decided to opt-out recently. JEL Codes: F13, F14, F15