The latest news, which has caught lot of attention in the South East Asian territories, is the change in the liberalization policy of India. The policy makers of the country have taken a bold step in reducing the tariff rates for the ASEAN exports to New Delhi. This, in my view would surely accelerate the India-ASEAN FTA.
The much hyped about Free Trade Agreement is only bound to improve the trade dealings, directly and hence the economy of the country, indirectly. The NAFTA-North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1994 serves as a testimony for the FTA policies. US and Mexico benefited a lot because of this pact and the same can be expected in India’s case too.
India has not played a blind man’s game in opening up the markets, for the government has assured to protect the interests of the local farmers as well. At the same time it also has increased the concessions (from 69% to a whopping 94.6%) for the ASEAN products exported to New Delhi. Major cuts in the import duties for palm oil, crude palm oil and black tea shows the visionary thoughts behind this pact. Though the list of excluded items covered by the policy is 560 in number, it is considerably smaller when compared to previous amendments’ 850 and 1440.
ASEAN has welcomed India’s move and one can expect to see a major turn around in the India-ASEAN FTA negotiations. Well if this doesn’t kick start the proceedings, I don’t know what else will.
The much hyped about Free Trade Agreement is only bound to improve the trade dealings, directly and hence the economy of the country, indirectly. The NAFTA-North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1994 serves as a testimony for the FTA policies. US and Mexico benefited a lot because of this pact and the same can be expected in India’s case too.
India has not played a blind man’s game in opening up the markets, for the government has assured to protect the interests of the local farmers as well. At the same time it also has increased the concessions (from 69% to a whopping 94.6%) for the ASEAN products exported to New Delhi. Major cuts in the import duties for palm oil, crude palm oil and black tea shows the visionary thoughts behind this pact. Though the list of excluded items covered by the policy is 560 in number, it is considerably smaller when compared to previous amendments’ 850 and 1440.
ASEAN has welcomed India’s move and one can expect to see a major turn around in the India-ASEAN FTA negotiations. Well if this doesn’t kick start the proceedings, I don’t know what else will.
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