ASEAN stonewalling FTA review, 9 rounds done: Official
The 10-member
ASEAN
has stonewalled the review of its free trade pact with India, a critical demand of New Delhi as it seeks to balance its trade with the bloc.
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), came into effect in 2010, is currently under review. India has been demanding a review of the pact to eliminate barriers and its misuse. The review is aimed to be completed this year.
'Diplomatically, the relations are very good but why should our industry suffer? It's the anguish of the Indian industry as nine
rounds have happened and the Asean have stonewalled the progress,' said an official.
Last week, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal slammed the ASEAN describing several countries in the region as a 'B team of China' and the trade pact with the bloc 'silly'.
Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
India's goods exports to the ASEAN shrank 5.4% on-year in FY25 to $38.96 billion while rose 5.6% to $84.16 billion.
'India's exports have doubled but imports trebled since the pact. There is a whopping 26 times increase in imports,' said an official.
The AITIGA is being reviewed as India seeks to eliminate barriers and misuse of the trade pact. Concerns have also been raised about routing of goods to India from third countries especially China through Asean members by taking the duty advantages of the agreement.
India had opened 71% of tariff lines while Indonesia opened only 41%, Vietnam 66.5%, and Thailand opened 67%, said another official.
As per the official, subsidised goods from a third country were found to be dumped until India levied anti-dumping duty. Similarly, India cracked down on dumping of steel imports via Safeguard duty as the melt-and-pour clause was not a part of the AITIGA.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
36 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Flight operations affected as Qatar shuts airspace
Reuters Representative Image Mumbai: India's airlines adjusted their operations Monday after Qatar temporarily closed its airspace amid growing security concerns in the Middle East. The shutdown has triggered flight cancellations, diversions and delays across the region, affecting both Indian and international carriers. Tata-owned Air India Express said: 'As a result of the ongoing situation in the Middle East and suspension of Qatar airspace, Air India Express has diverted our Doha-bound flight from Kochi to Muscat and returned our flight bound from Kannur.'The budget airline said it has no other flights bound for Qatar or on the ground in the West Asian country.'We are monitoring the situation closely and will take all necessary precautions for the safety and security of our guests and crew, with inputs from the relevant authorities,' it said. Air India, the full-service Tata Group-owned airline, suspended all flights over the Middle Eastern airspace for the next 24 hours as a warned of potential disruptions. 'In view of the evolving situation in the Middle East, some of our flights may experience delays or diversions,' the airline said. It urged passengers to check their flight status regularly and explore alternative options on its also announced that its flights to and from the Middle East may be affected by the ongoing situation in the region. The airline stated: "Our teams are closely monitoring the evolving situation to ensure that all flight operations are within safe and approved airspace." According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium accessed by ET, several flights scheduled to arrive in Dubai on Monday were diverted to other airports, indicating a broader impact on international air traffic to the region. Air India's AI 995, operating from Delhi, returned to Delhi. Similarly, Air India Express flights from Amritsar and Jaisalmer, both bound for Dubai, were rerouted to Mumbai and Jaisalmer, respectively, while a Swiss International flight from Zurich headed to Dubai was diverted to Cairo. The flight disruptions follow Qatar's announcement to suspend all air traffic in its airspace citing safety concerns. 'The competent Qatari authorities announce the temporary suspension of air traffic in the country's airspace out of concern for the safety of citizens, residents, and visitors,' Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a closure comes amid escalating tensions in the region following US military strikes on Iranian sites and warnings of Iranian retaliation. The region's airspace is a key corridor linking Asia with Europe and North America, and the restrictions have caused ripple effects across global to news agency reports, several international carriers, including Finnair, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Air France-KLM and Air Astana have cancelled or rerouted flights to major Gulf hubs like Doha, Dubai, Riyadh and Beirut. Finnair has suspended flights to Doha until June 30.
The Hindu
42 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Kanishka bombing 1985 stresses need for zero tolerance to terrorism: EAM Jaishankar
The 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India's Kanishka aircraft is a moment to reiterate that there should be zero tolerance for terrorism, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Monday (June 24, 2025). His remarks coincided with the memorial event that was organised jointly on the Irish coast of the Atlantic Ocean, where Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri participated and said India had been a victim of terrorism over decades, adding it was a 'shared responsibility' of the world community to fight 'dangerous ideologies'. 'On the 40th anniversary of Air India 182 'Kanishka' bombing, we honour the memory of the 329 lives lost in one of the worst acts of terrorism. A stark reminder of why the world must show zero tolerance towards terrorism and violent extremism,' said Mr. Jaishankar, paying tribute to the victims of the Kanishka bombing who came from India, Canada, Ireland and other countries. Mr. Puri led the Indian team to Cork, Ireland where a solemn ceremony was held at Ahakista, to remember those who perished in the terror bombing that took place on June 23, 1985. 'This tragedy was a deliberate, heinous attack carried out by extremist elements associated with a fringe and radical movement which sought to weaken India through terror,' said Mr. Puri, who added the tragedy had brought India and Ireland closer 'Terrorism and extremism remain very real even today. For decades, India has suffered the scourge of terrorism. Time and again, our people have endured bombings, assassinations and other atrocities — from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab to Mumbai,' said Mr. Puri, reminding that India experienced mass casualty terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. He also recollected his visits to the Kanishka memorials in Toronto, Canada and said the grief of the families of the victims had not vanished. 'This memorial site stands testimony to the tragedy of that crash on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean not far from here. Out of the ruins of a tragedy, the unique friendship between the Irish and the Indian people was deepened,' said Mr. Puri, thanking Ireland for memorialising Air India 182 tragedy. He described Kanishka bombing as a 'stain on humanity'.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Fears over Iran quitting NPT, reducing cooperation with IAEA
New Delhi: Iran is yet to impose a threatened blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, bringing relief to India for the time being. Parliamentarians in Iran had voted to choke off the strait as retaliation against the US strikes on three nuclear sites. But the Iran National Supreme Council is yet to take a call on the matter. While India is not solely dependent on the strait for its oil supplies and has adequate reserves, besides increased flow of crude from Russia, the channel remains significant in a region that's home to millions of Indians apart from oil and gas fields, according to Iran watchers. Iranian officials told their Indian counterparts that the channel remains open and that two Indians had been evacuated to Sharjah via the strait. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of global oil and gas flows, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration. Last year, 84% of crude oil travelled through the Strait of Hormuz to Asia, primarily China, India, Japan and South Korea. The channel has never been fully blocked but traffic has been disrupted following attacks on tankers during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, tensions between the US and Iran navies in 2007, and the 2023 seizure of an American crude tanker by Iran. Live Events China, one of Iran's close allies, is not in favour of blockading the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as its lifeline. Meanwhile, worries are escalating about Iran quitting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), reducing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and building a nuclear bomb. US President Donald Trump appeared to be toying with the prospect of new leadership in Iran. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change? MIGA!" he posted on Truth Social. However, Iran watchers said regime change may be easier said than done given the nature of its society. Iranians are apprehensive, given the fallout of regime changes in Iraq, Syria and Libya. India will operate three additional evacuation flights from Iran over the next 2-3 days, according to minister of state for external affairs Pabitra Margherita. Indian evacuations from Israel are also underway. Azerbaijan has also assisted in evacuating a few Indians who crossed over from Iran.
