ASSOCHAM seeks early India-ASEAN pact to boost trade
Reuters | Thu Mar 5, 2009
ASSOCHAM seeks early India-ASEAN pact to boost trade
NEW DELHI (Reuters) — India needs to expedite a free trade pact with the South-east Asian nations to boost exports in the face of a global economic downturn and rising protectionism, an industry body said on Thursday.
A slump in demand for Indian goods overseas has slashed the country’s exports by 16 percent in January, the fourth straight fall, and trade officials fear contraction in the full March quarter.
"To mitigate the sagging trade with their recession ridden major trading partners in US, EU and Japan, the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement is highly imperative to counter rising protectionism and prosper economic co-operation for both the economies," the Associated Chambers of Commerce said.
The ASEAN nations — Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar — have already concluded negotiations with India, but are yet to ink the pact.
Last month, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said the agreement is expected to be signed in April during the ASEAN summit.
The agreement, which was earlier scheduled to be signed in December, was delayed following political unrest in Thailand and the disagreement over the list of sensitive products.
India exported goods worth $5.99 billion to ASEAN in the first quarter of the current fiscal and imported merchandise worth $6.95 billion, according to trade ministry data.
Earlier, India set a target of $50 billion for two-way trade with ASEAN by 2010 from $39.1 billion in the 2007/08 fiscal year, but ASSOCHAM said the target appeared a distant dream.
The World Trade Organisation has forecast global trade to contract 2.1 percent in 2009, after having grown 4.6 percent last year as worries about protectionism are rising.
