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The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) continues to make slow progress (see earlier reports ‘ASEAN-India FTA stumbles over negatives list' and ‘Indian FM's warning on ASEAN FTA').
India's commerce secretary G K Pillai said he hoped to “tie up” all modalities by September-end so that there would be something concrete to announce at the India-ASEAN summit in Singapore in November 2007. ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong, however, told reporters that the agreement was not likely to be concluded until the middle of 2008.
India is seeking special treatment for five items -- coffee, tea, petroleum, palm oil and pepper -- that are critical for its economy, but that also make up a large part of ASEAN's trade with India.
“They (India) say their concern is that these five products are critical to them and they cannot give concessions to ASEAN,” Yong told Reuters in Kuala Lumpur. “Our argument is that these five products represent a lot of our trade with India, and if you don't want to give it to us then what's the point of doing an FTA?”
Rules of origin was another issue being hammered out in the talks, with a further round scheduled for September, Ong said.
It is estimated that if the agreement is signed within the stipulated timeframe, India's exports to ASEAN could reach $ 22 billion by 2012.
In 2005, two-way trade between India and ASEAN stood at $ 23 billion, with India's export share at $ 8 billion.
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam make up the 10-nation ASEAN.
August 31, 2007
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