India threatens to leave RCEP trade deal as year-end goal abandoned

India warned on Monday that it could pull out of negotiations for a sprawling Asia-Pacific free trade agreement after leaders from 16 nations effectively gave up on finalizing the deal by year's end while singling out the South Asian country as a stumbling block.In a joint statement released after their summit in Thailand, the leaders of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which includes Japan and China, pledged to sign an agreement on creating the world's largest free trade area in 2020, indicating that the negotiations will continue.Some nations have expressed optimism on the…READ FULL ARTICLE