Piyush Goyal said that the lesson to be learnt from these negotiations is that one should never finalise a trade agrement in a hurry like it was done in 2010-11 with Japan, Korea, and ASEAN

China also said it would welcome India joining the deal at an early date.

RCEP trade deal: Congress also said that signing the RCEP would have been catastrophic given the \"rampant unemployment, a sinking economy and deep agrarian crisis emanating from utter mismanagement of economy by BJP Government\".

RCEP trade deal: The group said that the Indian govt should not agree to the RCEP even in future as it will be a 'bad deal for democracy, for farmers, workers, will subvert our sovereign laws and compromise India's industrialisation potential'.

RCEP is meant to create the biggest free trade region in the world with sixteen countries (including India). These countries represent half the world's population and one-third of the global GDP

China, a champion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), said 15 members had agreed to move ahead without India, while leaving the door open for it to join a deal that has been given new impetus by the United States-China trade war

Morrison and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham are in Bangkok to discuss the RCEP during the ASEAN summit.

The statement came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a mutually beneficial RCEP, in which all sides gain reasonably, is in interests of India and of all the partners.

India and 15 Asia-Pacific countries are expected to announce the outcome of the seven-year negotiations to create the world's largest free trade region today