Latest news with #Asean-IndiaTradeinGoodsAgreement
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Next round of India-Asean goods pact review in Oct
New Delhi: The next round of review talks for the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) will be held on October 6 and 7 in Jakarta, the government said Friday. The 10th round of the negotiations were held in New Delhi from August 10 to 14. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency The commerce and industry ministry said the joint committee focused on advancing the ongoing review of the pact to enhance its effectiveness, accessibility and trade facilitation capabilities . "The discussions built on the progress achieved through eight active rounds of negotiations," it said, adding that delegates from all 10 Asean member states participated. Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. "Bilateral trade reached $123 billion in FY25, reflecting the strong economic ties between the two sides and creating opportunities for enhanced cooperation in the years ahead," it said. Singapore trade, investment In a separate statement, the ministry said India and Singapore reviewed the ongoing collaboration in semiconductor sector and digitalisation of trade, and explored potential partnerships in skills development and capacity building. The issues were taken up at the fourth meeting of the India-Singapore Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment (JWGTI) held on August 14 in New Delhi. "The discussions focused on identifying priority sectors for greater alignment, improving logistics and supply chains, streamlining regulatory frameworks and exploring ways to facilitate cross-border trade," the ministry said. Singapore is India's largest trading partner within Asean, with total bilateral trade of $34.26 billion in FY25. It is also India's second-largest source of foreign direct investment with equity inflows of $163.85 billion between April 2000 and July 2024, accounting for about 24% of India's total inflows.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Amid deficit underuse of Asean trade agreement to be assessed by commerce department
New Delhi: The commerce department has drawn up a list of around 20 questions to be shared with exporters to gauge the underutilisation of India's trade pact with Asean countries amid the deal being reviewed due to New Delhi's high and sustained trade deficit. These questions pertain to difficulty to trace the origin of raw materials, challenges in interpretation and procedures, cost of compliance and if exporters are not using the preferential route due to low duty differentials compared to regular rates. The Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), which 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Prices Might Surprise You! Villa for sale in Dubai | Search Ads Learn More Undo "We are trying to assess the reasons that affect the export performance and limit the exporters ability to leverage the AITIGA preferential benefits," said an official. Asean, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. "The structural or policy-related bottlenecks impacting exports under the agreement and domestic supply-side limitations or capacity constraints are also being looked into," the official added. Live Events The questionnaire will also touch upon tariff and non-tariff barriers in the 10-member bloc, procedural issues in availing preferential certificates, pricing compared to key competitors, rules of origin, buyer-side challenges and customs clearance process compared to regular most favoured nation (MFN) route. The exercise is crucial as India seeks to eliminate barriers and misuse of the trade pact and reduce its trade deficit with the grouping. India had opened 71% of tariff lines while Indonesia opened only 41%, Vietnam 66.5% and Thailand 67%, for AITIGA. India's goods exports to the Asean shrank 5.4% from a year earlier to $38.96 billion in FY25, while its imports from the bloc rose 5.6% to $84.16 billion. 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.
Mint
06-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Trade agreements struck earlier have taught India how to raise its game
India's trade policy is undergoing a significant transformation. Free trade agreements (FTAs) are increasingly being leveraged as a tool to boost exports, attract foreign investment and improve industrial competitiveness. For decades, India had approached FTAs with caution. However, the new approach is characterized by economic complementarity, strategic alignment, reciprocity and far-sighted discourse. Old FTAs, uneven gains: India's early FTAs with Asean, Japan and South Korea have not yielded the desired outcomes. Instead, the trade deficit with these countries has widened significantly. While the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) of 2009 helped expand trade volumes, it also widened our trade deficit with Asean from $6 billion in 2009 to over $45 billion by 2022 (it's now at $38 billion). Our experience has been similar with Korea and Japan; imports surged while exports stagnated, particularly in sectors where India had held a comparative advantage, like garments, pharma, etc. These early agreements had several structural and design issues. Also Read: The India-UK free trade deal is a game-changer for bilateral trade relations First, tariff concessions were asymmetrical (especially under the AITIGA), with India offering more liberal market access to all Asean countries, while Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand opened up their markets through far fewer tariff lines than India did. Second, non-tariff barriers such as complex certification procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations and technical standards have impacted India's exports. Japan's SPS measures are particularly stringent, making it extremely challenging for Indian exporters of farm produce and other food items. Third, the agreements struck earlier primarily covered goods. Most of those FTAs have limited provisions for services or professional mobility, areas where India is competitive. Earlier FTAs also did not include strong safeguard or review clauses either, leaving little recourse for industries impacted by import surges or trade diversion. Also Read: Export thrust: India should move goods like a horse to trade like a tiger Our new playbook: India's recently signed FTAs with the UAE, Australia and the UK offer a new playbook. Take the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Since it was signed in 2022, India's exports to the UAE have grown at an average annual rate of over 14%. This is also among India's first modern FTAs. It has chapters on digital trade and e-commerce. The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has also yielded positive outcomes, with a much higher 77% utilization rate by Indian exporters within a year of signing the pact. Its success has encouraged the two countries to negotiate a CECA. The positive outcomes of these new deals are not accidental. They are the result of a strategic approach formulated with lessons learnt from the past. First, India is choosing its partners more judiciously, focusing on developed markets like the UK, EU and US which have complementary interests and offer meaningful market access for India's goods and service exports. Second, agreements are now broader in scope. They go beyond goods to include investment, intellectual property, digital trade and skilled labour mobility. In the India-UK negotiations, for instance, India secured London's liberalization of professional-mobility rules and will enter into mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) on qualifications for various professional services. Both sides also agreed on a convention to prevent double contributions that exempts Indians on short stints in the UK from making social security payments there. Third, trade agreements are being integrated with India's domestic policy agenda, with efforts to deploy tariffs and other tools in support of 'Make in India' and various production-linked incentive schemes, even as investments are encouraged that would help Indian manufacturing assimilate into global value chains. India's Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Free Trade Association is a case in point. Fourth, India is looking to build trade resilience. New Delhi is negotiating deals with Chile and Peru to establish long-term resource partnerships, given their huge reserves of critical minerals such as copper and lithium, which are essential for various elements of India's clean-energy transition. Crucially, lessons from the past have ensured that negotiated 'rules of origin' are effective, while safeguard mechanisms and review clauses are well integrated. Also Read: India should hold its ground in trade negotiations with the EU On the horizon: India must ensure no repeat of past mistakes in its trade deals. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) could pose a challenge, particularly in developed markets with high standards. Ficci recommends including the negotiation of MRAs on testing, certification and inspection to tackle NTBs in future agreements. Further, all pacts must include periodic review clauses and safeguard triggers. For instance, an 'auto-trigger mechanism'—which ups tariffs automatically once imports exceed a certain threshold—could be considered. A similar clause is in place under the India-Mauritius deal. Finally, India must use and embed data more systematically into agreements, not just at the negotiation stage, but well into implementation too. The author is president, FICCI.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Low use of Asean FTA under review; aim is to eliminate barriers
The commerce and industry ministry has assessed that the utilisation of the preferential route under the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) for the export of many goods, including chemicals and plastics, to Thailand is below 50%. The AITIGA was signed in 2009 and came into effect in 2010. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads NEW DELHI: The government is examining the causes for the low utilisation of India's free trade agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc, particularly Thailand The commerce and industry ministry has assessed that the utilisation of the preferential route under the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement ( AITIGA ) for the export of many goods, including chemicals and plastics, to Thailand is below 50%. The AITIGA was signed in 2009 and came into effect in 2010."The AITIGA offers lower preferential tariff rates compared to the tariffs levied by Thailand. We have asked industry why the utilisation of this preferential route for many exports is below 50%," said an Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are Asean members. Five countries-Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam-account for 92.7% of India's exports to and 97.4% imports from per the analysis, Thailand imposes most-favoured nation (MFN) duty of 3-30% on certain plastics and chemicals whereas these products can go duty-free under the present, 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 from third countries in India through Asean members by taking the duty advantages of the the pact, the two sides agreed to progressively eliminate duties on about 75% of goods and reduce tariffs on around 15% goods but the 10 Asean countries made different tariff elimination commitments.
