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Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal assessed the progress in the ASEAN-India free trade agreement review negotiations with his counterparts from the ten-member ASEAN grouping at the ASEAN-India Economic Ministers meeting in Laos on Friday.
“The review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is high on our priority to make it more user friendly, simple and trade facilitative for businesses,” per a statement issued by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Friday.
The Minister will also participate in the 12th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM).
Market access
New Delhi wants ASEAN nations to give greater market access to its businesses by lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers so that its ballooning trade deficit with the bloc could be bridged.
The meeting, in Vientiane, Laos, noted the progress in the AITIGA review, which will forge deeper trade & economic ties and create new opportunities for businesses on both sides, Goyal stated in a social media post on Friday.
“Emphasised the importance of two-way trade, paving way for stronger supply chain linkages and GVC integration between the two regions benefiting businesses and people across the region,” he said.
The AITIGA, signed in 2009, has resulted in higher trade deficit for India in its trade with the ASEAN bloc. In 2023-24, India’s trade deficit with the bloc widened to $38.46 billion from $7.5 billion in 2010, when the pact got implemented.
India exported goods worth $41.2 billion to the region while its imports were valued at $79.66 billion. The ASEAN countries account for about 11 per cent of India’s global trade. The AITIGA joint committee initiated discussions for review of the pact in May 2023.
Eight sub-panels
There are eight sub-committees dealing with various areas under the review including national treatment and market access, Rules of Origin, standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary, legal and institutional issues, customs procedures and trade facilitation.
The ten-member ASEAN includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
The EAS EMM witnesses participation of economic Ministers of the 10 ASEAN countries plus eight other EAS partners including India, the US, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
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