India to adopt utmost flexibility in trade talks with Nepal
Zee News
India to adopt utmost flexibility in trade talks with Nepal
New Delhi, Dec 19 2006 : India has decided to hand over a virtual blank cheque to Nepal as it prepares to start talks for extending the trade treaty between the two countries.
"In the talks (for extending the agreement) we will be guided by what Nepal wants," Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai said here.
The statement assumes significance in view of the recent political changes in the Himalayan country.
The India-Nepal trade treaty expires in March next year after it was extended for five years in March 2002. The treaty was originally signed in 1996 and has continued without much changes since then.
Pillai said that India has more than a free trade agreement with Nepal. "Negotiations on extending the treaty has not yet begun, but India is not looking at any major changes in it," the Commerce Secretary added.
As per the treaty, Nepalese products enjoy zero duty access into India.
During the last extension in 2002, detailed rules of origin and value addition norms were laid down.
A safeguard clause was also inserted to permit appropriate remedial measures in tune with international norms to deal with surge in imports that may hurt domestic industry.
Tariff rate quotas (TRQs) in the case of four sensitive commodities like vanaspati, acrylic yarn, copper products and zinc oxide were also to be introduced that would permit duty free imports of these commodities only up to a certain ceiling.
Bureau Report
