Market Access and Issues of Data Gaps and Transparency and Information Asymmetry: A Case of RCEP Negotiations

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Doubling India’s exports by 2025 has been a declared policy of the government of India and is one of the critical goals of trade policy. The process has been adopted from the developed world without much change or adapting it to the local realities of higher presence of unorganised sector. In this context, the paper analyses the RCEP market as one of the means to achieve the goal. One of the methods to achieve the goal which may look achievable, but for lack of correctly understanding the issues which have occurred in the analysis as part of the study (data gaps) and systemic aspects of the trade agreements and information asymmetry in international trade dealings. Firstly, in terms of data gap, the non-inclusion of the Ad Valorem Equivalent tariff for the Non-Ad Valorem tariff is the data gap in the calculation of duties that can influence an FTA. It stresses the need for a thorough ex-ante and ex-post analysis of FTA with the view of cost and benefits to be neutral. Secondly, the data gaps which have been identified is the by way of the application of non-tariff measures, like the SPS and TBT measures. The NTMs are notified to the WTO without the HS codes and therefore misses the essential market access link that is trading link as records show that close to 85 percent of this notification is with the critical trade-link. Further, there are other methodological issues like how the NTMs has taken up for analysis are often treated as one-time impact vis-a-vis the ideal method of taking a cumulative impact assessment. There is a considerable difference across the presently available global database on NTMs, like SPS and TBT measures. One of the web-based databases is integrated trade intelligence portal (I-TiP) the WTO database on NTMs provides information on SPS and TBT only in the case for notified notifications with HS codes already provided by the member, or ISO, IEC codes indicate - the data available therefore for researcher is not complete for the analysis of market access. A curtail link is the HS code which the members do not notifies, in this case, the RCEP market access. Thirdly, the issues of information asymmetry can also be observed, in the RCEP market particular and across the developed world, which is particularly onerous for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). The precise requirements used could have been challenged if the notifications are better notified with full disclosure like the tariffs – which is the other significant trade barrier for an exporter.