Top leaders of India and Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday took stock of the progress in the ongoing review of their nearly one-and-half-decades old goods trade agreement at Vientiane in Laos.
“The meeting (India-Asean Economic Ministers Meeting) noted the progress in the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) review which will forge deeper trade and economic ties and create new opportunities for business on both sides,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal posted on microblogging platform ‘X’.
“At the meeting both sides emphasised the importance of two-way trade paving the way for stronger supply chains and global value chain integration between the two regions,” the minister said.
At the Asean-India Economic Ministers’ meeting at Semarang in Indonesia in August last year, both sides had agreed to a framework of the review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement. It also endorsed the terms of reference of the Asean India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Joint Committee, the work plan of the review negotiations and negotiating structure of the review.
At the meeting the detailed action plan for the review was also finalised and the deadline of 2025 was set for completing the process.
Asean had agreed to the review of the pact in 2019, four years after India first raised the demand in 2015. At the 2022 India-Asean Summit scope of the review was agreed to for making the agreement more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative.
An official had said last month that the text that will form the basis of the review will be ready by September. The review covers eight areas and for each of these separate sun-committees have been set up.
Apart from national treatment and market access and rules of origin the other areas covered by the ongoing review are standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures; sanitary and phytosanitary; legal and institutional issues; customs procedures and trade facilitation; trade remedies and technical cooperation.
The AITIGA entered into force on 1 January 2010 which created one of the world’s largest free trade areas. Within five years of the agreement on goods being activated India had started asking for a review of the pact as its imports from Asean zoomed but it could not derive the expected benefits.
The trade deficit with Asean widened from $ 4.98 billion in 2010-11, the first full year of operation of AITIGA to $ 38.4 billion in 2023-24. The deficit has fallen from $ 43.5 billion in the previous year. The deficit was $ 25.7 billion in FY 22.
India maintains that its exports to Asean have been impeded by non-reciprocity in FTA concessions, non tariff barriers, import regulations and quotas. Another Indian demand is strict adherence to Rules of Origin provisions of the agreement by Asean.
Apart from economic ministers’ meetings, Goyal will also participate in the 12th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM). He will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the Asean nations. Meetings have been scheduled with the Minister of host country Lao PDR and visiting Ministers from Korea, Malaysia, Switzerland and Myanmar.
On Friday he also had a meeting with director of state secretariat of economic affairs of Switzerland Helene Budliger and discussed the progress in realising the full potential of India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement. Goyal also met the Asean-India Business Council delegation and discussed strengthening business engagement.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
