India has urged the ten-member Asean bloc to address the concerns of its domestic industries impacted by the current free trade agreement (FTA) as both regions engage in negotiations for a review.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stressed the need for fairer tariff liberalisation during a stock-taking session of the ongoing review talks for the India-Asean FTA in goods (AITIGA) held in Laos on Friday.
Goyal highlighted the "inequitable tariff liberalisation" under the existing agreement, which has caused injury to Indian industries. He called for corrective measures to be taken during the review process. "Goyal stressed the urgency of upgrading AITIGA, warning that without such efforts, bilateral trade could be diverted to other regions," the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The meeting, which was attended by economic ministers or their representatives from the ten ASEAN nations — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — noted the progress made in the review negotiations. Goyal also pointed to India’s broader efforts in integrating with other global economies through various FTAs.
