Next round of RCEP talks from April 24 in Australia: Nirmala Sitharaman

NEW DELHI: The next round of negotiations for the proposed mega trade deal, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ( RCEP), would be held in Australia from Sunday, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.

"We have made our offers for goods and services. The RCEP negotiations are happening in detail. India participating in the next round beginning April 24," she said in a tweet.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a mega trade deal which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights.

The 16-member bloc RCEP comprises 10 Asean members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their six free trade agreement partners -- India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile in a letter to Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, Software Freedom Law Centre has expressed concern over certain issues relating to patents in the area of computer programmes in the RCEP pact being negotiated.

Certain proposed clause in the agreement "could result in floodgates being opened for patents in the field of software," it said.

"We request you to protect the interests of the domestic software industry and startups, to ensure that the proposed clause on patents in the area of computer programmes is excluded and that no clause that runs contrary to the Patents Act is included in the final version of the agreement," it added.

Not-for-profit medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) too said that access to affordable medicines could be severely restricted for millions of people around the world under the current proposals in the RCEP.

"Proposals in the RCEP negotiations are trying to introduce intellectual property measures far tougher on access to medicines than what is required under international trade rules." it said in a statement.