Free trade is good, with transparency
Freer trade is in India’s interest, and especially so in the dynamic(गतिशील ) Indo-Pacific region, but trade distortions(विकृति )are wholly avoidable(टालने योग्य/परिहार्य). Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu has rightly been circumspect(एहतियाती/सावधान) in negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive(विस्तृत/व्यापक) Economic Partnership (RCEP), the proposed mega trade pact amongst the 10 member countries of the ASEAN, and its six free-trade agreement partners—Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, China and India. Notably, India has called for stricter rules of origin(उत्पत्ति)to prevent(रोकना/बाधा डालना), say, Chinese goods from flooding the market.
New Delhi has stressed that the country from which a product is exported(निर्यात ) needs to carry out the maximum value addition(वृद्धि/योग), so as to avoid routine(नियमित ) trade diversion(मोड़). It is a fact that globally, the average threshold level on domestic content and value addition is in the range of 40-60% to meet rules of origin requirements(आवश्यकताओं). It is true that the potential gains from trade from RCEP can be huge. The region comprises(शामिल/दाखिल करना) 45% of the world’s population, with a combined GDP of about $21 trillion. But scope for trade diversion and other distortions would harm our interests and need to be nipped(काटाना) in the bud(कली/विकसित होना). Stricter rules of origin with China would not suffice; we also need similar origin norms with other neighbours and trading partners for more trade transparency. India is seeking 20 years to offer full tariff concessions to other RCEP partners except China, with which we want a longer period for removal of duties given its trade opacity(अस्पष्टता). New Delhi has also sought easier movement of professionals under the so-called Mode 4 route, and there should be much potential(क्षमता/संभावित) for gainful(लाभदायक) give and take on both counts in trade, as India picks up economic speed and there’s better social and physical infrastructure here.
Important Vocabulary
1.Dynamic(गतिशील )
Synonyms: aggressive, changing, charismatic, compelling, effective
Antonyms: fruitless, idle, impotent, inactive, incapable
2.Avoidable(टालने योग्य/परिहार्य).
Synonyms: needless, unnecessary, avertible, escapable, stoppable
Antonyms: necessary, needed, inescapable, inevitable
3.Distortions(विकृति )
Synonyms: bias, exaggeration, lie, misinterpretation, misrepresentation
Antonyms: beauty, clarity, perfection
4.Addition(वृद्धि/योग)
Synonyms: extension, inclusion, accession, annexation, attachment
Antonyms: decrease, deduction, lessening, loss, reduction
5.Opacity(अस्पष्टता).
Synonyms: darkness, murkiness, obscurity
