Since the inception of the WTO in 1995, India enthusiastically explored export-promotion strategies through multilateral trade reforms. However, the country has moved towards the regional trade route since 2004, primarily owing to the slow progress of the Doha Round negotiations. As a result, the whole architecture of international trade law and governance is being redesigned in the Asia Pacific region. This paper focuses on the pivotal role played by India in this rebalancing. Given the stress on services exports and investment requirements, India focused on entering into comprehensive agreements encompassing merchandise and services trade as well as investment provisions. Presently, India is involved in the ongoing Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP] negotiations, where ASEAN remains at the core. The current analysis evaluates the Indo-ASEAN trade patterns and evolving dynamics over the last decade through select trade indices, and comments on the future of the RCEP.

中文翻译：

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印度的自由贸易协定终于到了吗？东盟“现在”和RCEP“未来”

自 1995 年 WTO 成立以来，印度通过多边贸易改革积极探索出口促进战略。然而，该国自 2004 年以来已转向区域贸易路线，这主要是由于多哈回合谈判进展缓慢。因此，亚太地区正在重新设计国际贸易法和治理的整体架构。本文重点关注印度在这一再平衡中发挥的关键作用。鉴于对服务出口和投资要求的压力，印度专注于签订涵盖商品和服务贸易以及投资条款的全面协议。目前，印度参与了正在进行的区域全面经济伙伴关系（RCEP）谈判，东盟仍然是该谈判的核心。