Piyush Goyal, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Union, has called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to strengthen the provisions on “rules of origin”, one of the main concerns of India, because the markets of the nation are being flooded by Chinese products through some ASEAN countries. countries.
Goyal co-chaired the 17th Asean-India Consultation of Economic Ministers (AEM) held on Saturday via videoconference in an attempt to maintain social distancing norms due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
He stressed that the free trade agreement (FTA) has to be “mutually beneficial” and expressed the need to strengthen the provisions of the rules of origin, work to eliminate non-tariff barriers and provide better market access, said Sunday a statement from the ministry.
Goyal called for an early review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), as the trade pact is hurting India’s interests, particularly due to the violation of the clauses of the rules of origin.
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India is concerned and wants to review the FTAs, as several Chinese products are dumped into its markets through a third country with which the nation has an agreement, said a government official who requested anonymity.
The review is necessary as many items enter Indian markets by taking advantage of the Asean-India FTA. Imports with low or no tariffs put the domestic industry at a great disadvantage, the official said.
Goyal used the Asean ministerial forum to reiterate India’s consistent position that the NAFTA review has been unduly delayed. It called for a closer engagement before the Asean-India Leaders Summit scheduled for November and to begin the full review before the end of this year, the Commerce Ministry said in the statement.
Goyal co-chaired the meeting with Tran Tuan Anh, Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Commerce.
A report from the Asean India Business Council (AIBC) was also presented at the meeting.
He also recommended a review of the AITIGA for mutual benefit. The ministers of India and the ASEAN countries instructed officials to begin discussions to determine the scope of the review as soon as possible to make the FTA more user-friendly for businesses.
Sangita Reddy, co-chair of AIBC (India), said the nation and Asean should develop a roadmap for collaboration in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors along with knowledge sharing and digital connectivity. “She shared that special incentives should be introduced for Indian pharmaceutical companies to set up plants in areas dedicated to Asean,” the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI) said in a statement.
The industry association is the Indian secretariat of AIBC.
The meeting was attended by trade ministers from the 10 ASEan countries, such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to take collective action to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and resolved to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability and resilient supply chain connectivity, in particular the unimpeded flow of essential goods and medicines in the region, in compliance with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the statement said.
AIBC also recommended the elimination of non-tariff measures to allow the smooth movement of goods and services, the FICCI said in the statement.
He proposed the introduction of a business travel card that would facilitate business travel between India and ASEAN countries with a minimum validity of 90 days.
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