India signs good FTA with ASEAN

After being in dialogue for six long years, India signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in goods with the 10-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) following the meeting of the ASEAN-India Economic Ministers, in Bangkok. The pact on trade in goods under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) was signed by India's Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma and ASEAN Economic Ministers. Thai and Indian officials said that the FTA would eliminate tariffs on products, including electronics, chemicals, capital goods and textiles. It is targeted to eliminate tariffs on 80% of the tariff lines accounting for 75% of the trade in a gradual manner starting from 1st January, 2010. Tariffs on these products would be reduced to zero between 2013 and 2016, according to a joint statement. The pact, on which the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has formed a GoM to allay domestic concerns, will eliminate duties on 4,000 items by 2016. The FTA has provided flexibilities to India and ASEAN countries to exclude some of the products from the tariff concessions or eliminations to address their respective domestic sensitivity. India on its part has excluded 489 items from the list of tariff concessions and 590 items from the list of tariff elimination to address sensitivities in agriculture, textiles, auto, chemicals, crude and refined palm oil, coffee, tea, pepper etc. ASEAN countries have also maintained similar exclusion list from the proposed tariff concessions or eliminations.