Indian politicians oppose Asean-India FTA
Bernama | July 24, 2009
Indian Politicians Oppose Asean-India FTA
By P.Vijian
NEW DELHI, July 24 (Bernama) — Fearing millions of farmers will suffer, Indian politicians are vehemently objecting at the eleventh hour to the almost finalised Asean-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The objections could derail expansion of two-way trade worth billions of dollars.
Indian bureaucrats and the government are eager to conclude the much awaited and much delayed trade deal between Asean and India, Asia’s third largest economy.
But some senior Indian Cabinet Ministers and opposition leaders are pressuring the government to reconsider the FTA.
Defence Minister A.K. Anthony fears cash crops like cashewnut, coir, pepper and rubber, largely grown in his home state of Kerala, would be affected and wants the government to postpone the signing.
The 10-member Asean and India, the bloc’s dialogue partner, plan to sign the FTA during the Asean-India Summit slated for this October in Thailand.
"The agreement will adversely impact workforce employment in traditional sectors like coir, marine products, the cashew industry, pepper and natural rubber," Anthony’s was quoted as saying by the Economic Times.
Under the FTA, bilateral trade is expected to multiply manifold, from the current US$38 billion (RM133 billion), once tariffs on over 4,000 items are slashed and streamlined.
In the Indian parliament, currently in session, opposition parties like the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sawajwadi Party, are raking up the issue.
On Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who was attending the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket, said India was ready to sign the FTA in October.
Asean and Indian trade officials took almost six years to hammer out the agreement, after leaders from both sides signed the ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation, at the second ASEAN-India Summit in 2003.
