Indian industry continues to be focussed on the US and the EU, failing to exploit the opportunities to the East, according to Ashit Tripathy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, he said exports to the South-East Asian countries and Japan continue to be dominated by commodities and intermediate products while imports from there are value added products. It is obvious the traders are exploiting the opportunity but not the industry, he said.
Industry often complains about the free trade agreements and regional trade agreements with South-East Asia but the fact is India has a clear advantage.
“Korea and Japan have opened up more than we have,” he said. With the Asean free trade agreement in the offing, industry should interact more with the Commerce Ministry to represent its concerns. This will help India negotiate better, he said.