India made it clear on Thursday that it will insist on a sizeable negative list of items in the Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN and there will be no compromise on the number of agricultural and textile items in which duty free imports will be banned.
Both India and the EU are likely to announce a conclusion of trade talks on January 27.
The formalisation of Asean-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) covering the goods sector marks an important step towards India's deepening trade links with its partners in the Asian region.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday began hectic parleys with his counterparts from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam to narrow down differences on finalising the much-awaited Asean-India Free Trade Agreement. However, the Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said that the 10-member Asean had put the trade talks "on hold" until India came up with a more progressive way forward.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
This accord marks the success of India's Look East Policy and is the first with a trading bloc.
Consumers can expect duty-free imports of a range of products like capital goods, some textiles, electronic goods and chemicals from next year after India successfully concluded negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement for goods with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore on Thursday.
India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement talks are in troubled waters with Asean insisting on New Delhi to eliminate its big list of negative items, contrary to the stand taken by the former.
India on Monday announced closure of negotiations for a free trade agreement signed with New Zealand, its 18th deal so far as the country aims to boost bilateral trade and investments. The India-New Zealand FTA is expected to be signed in the next three months and it is likely to come into force next year.
The Centre said on Wednesday it had made a good offer for the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nation and is awaiting ASEAN's reactions to it.
Foreign tourist arrivals in India dropped to 6.18 million during the April-September 2025 period against 7.06 million during the same period last year, which was a drop of 12.4 per cent.
India and the European Union are set to announce on January 27 the conclusion of negotiations and finalisation of a free trade agreement, which is aimed at boosting economic ties between the two regions amid disruptions in global trade due to US tariffs, an official said.
Government officials said the Asean FTA, as well as a similar pact with South Korea involving free trade of goods, services and investment, could be signed on the sidelines of the summit of Asean nations, scheduled in October this year. The India-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is also ready for signing, sources added.
Talks on the ambitious India-Asean Free Trade Agreement have received another setback due to the violent protests at the Asean summit venue in Thailand last Sunday.
Currently, the trade between India and Association of South East Asian Nations stood at $80 billion.
In fact, India stands to gain in sectors such as textiles, handicrafts, chemicals and pharmaceutical from its trade with the Asean economies.
The implementation of the ambitious India-Asean Free Trade Agreement is likely to miss the target date of January 1, 2009. Negotiators from both the countries had closed talks this August, after six years of painstaking dialogue.
Taking India's Look East policy a step further, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday announced visa-on-arrival facility for citizens of Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines and Laos; and emphasised the need to speed up the finalisation of a free trade agreement in services and investment between India and South East Asian nations.
India is the only country which has a negative list incorporated in a trade pact with Asean.
The 15th India-Vietnam Defence Dialogue signalled a move from routine talks to deeper cooperation, with new deals on submarine rescue and defence industry to support stability in the Indo-Pacific, notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Commerce Minister Kamal Nath will attend an informal ASEAN Economic Ministers-India Consultation in Kuala Lumpur
India has offered further pruning of its negative list of 560 items for Association of South East Asian Nations on which there will be no duty cuts
After more than a year since the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) became operational, it is now approaching consolidation.
"We hope to reach a solution by July 2007," the minister said after the ASEAN-India economic minister's meeting held in Cebu, Philippines.
India on Thursday signed a free trade agreement, officially dubbed as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), with the UK - its 16th trade pact so far - as the country aims to boost bilateral trade and investments.
India's goods exports rebounded in July after two months of contraction, with outbound shipments rising 7.3 per cent to $37.24 billion, led by a surge in exports to the United States before the country's reciprocal tariff kicked in and bolstered by a recovery in exports to other key markets.
The India-Asean free trade agreement (FTA) in merchandise goods has failed to realise its full potential, even as the deal was implemented in January 2010 to facilitate greater trade in the region. As a result, reduction of duties on several products might get delayed.
Importers will now have to provide sufficient proof to the domestic customs authorities that the goods being imported have a minimum 35 per cent value addition in the country from which it is being exported to India.
After operationalising FTA in goods last year, both the sides were engaged in widening the base of the pact by including services and investments.
India finalised a free trade agreement with the UK, its 16th so far as the country aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. The other regions and countries with which India has signed such agreements include the four-nation European bloc EFTA, Japan, Korea and Australia.
The government expects to conclude the agreement during the December 20-21 meet.
The proposed India-Thailand free trade agreement (FTA) will have to wait for some more time to become operational, as there has been no headway in negotiations on the India-Asean treaty on free trading of goods.
The All India Kisan Sabha has expressed its displeasure on the signing of a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN nations. In a statement issued by the farmer's body they have criticised the centre for signing the FTA despite serious misgivings of state governments, peasant organisations and experts.Sectors like plantations, fisheries, textiles and light manufacturing goods will be seriously affected by this deal.
Thailand, Indonesia want unconditional access to India's multi-brand retail space.
The agreement on services, if ratified by all member countries, could prove to be a game changer for Indian professionals in education, healthcare & IT.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has stepped up its watch on the import of unbranded gold jewellery amid a spurt in seizures on international borders and from importers. During FY24, the CBIC and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) jointly seized about 5 tonnes of gold, 30 per cent more than what they did in FY23. In FY23, 3.5 tonnes of gold was confiscated.
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