Piyush Goyal Slams Congress Over RCEP: Calls it 'Real Surrender' to China

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal criticized the UPA government for pushing India into the RCEP agreement in 2011-12, labeling it a 'surrender to China'.
• Goyal stated that PM Modi's 2019 decision to withdraw from RCEP prevented the Indian market from being flooded with cheap Chinese goods, saving domestic industries.
• RCEP, intended to be the world's largest free trade agreement, included 10 ASEAN nations and 6 major trading partners like China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India.
• The BJP argued that RCEP would have led to a 'backdoor FTA with China', increasing India's trade deficit and harming farmers and MSMEs due to tax-free Chinese imports.
• India withdrew from RCEP in November 2019, citing concerns that cheap imports from countries like New Zealand (dairy) and China (electronics, steel) would devastate Indian industries.

Why It Matters: Piyush Goyal accused Congress of a 'real surrender' by joining RCEP, while crediting PM Modi for protecting Indian industries.