India’s Bid for APEC Membership: Trade Policy is the Stumbling Block

India’s chances of becoming a member of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum brightened considerably after the United States welcomed its interest in early 2015. But till now, there has hardly been any progress, with doubts continuing to linger over India’s commitment to an open and forward-looking external trade policy. This paper underlines the divergence between India’s foreign and trade policies, and argues that the latter has hardly been able to match the energy and proactivity of the former. Without strong signals on commitment to external sector reforms, India will find it difficult to gain support from the APEC community as a prospective member.