India considering trade pacts with EU, Japan
Tue Jul 25, 2006
India considering trade pacts with EU, Japan
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is considering economic cooperation agreements with the European Union and Japan to boost trade, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday, a day after global free trade talks collapsed.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) talks failed in Geneva on Monday as member countries failed to overcome differences on farming and manufacturing, leaving analysts to predict a spate of bilateral trade agreements.
"We are examining, we have not decided, an economic cooperation agreement with the European Union, a cooperation agreement with Japan," Nath told a news conference but gave no details.
India has a ’comprehensive economic cooperation agreement’ with Singapore and has free trade ties with Thailand and Sri Lanka.
It has been negotiating a free-trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but a spokeswoman for Malaysia’s trade minister said on Tuesday the talks had been suspended because of India’s reluctance to open its markets.
