ANI
10 Sep 2019, 19:48 GMT+10
New Delhi (India), Sept 10 (ANI): RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Tuesday welcomed the outcome of India's consultations with ten-member ASEAN which agreed to initiate a review of the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in goods to make it "more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative".
"We understand that the ASEAN-India FTA reached during the previous UPA regime was extremely unequal trade agreement. It is never a case in an International Trade Agreement, that there exists no exit clause or a review clause and ASEAN-India FTA was exactly of that type of agreement. There was no review clause or exit clause in this FTA," said Ashwani Mahajan, the national Co-convener of SJM.
Calling the previous arrangements as "unfortunate", he said: "Today's agreement does away with this unfortunate scenario."His remarks came soon after economic Ministers of ten-member ASEAN states and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal agreed to initiate the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make the AIFTA more user-friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses.
The Ministers tasked officials to work on the details of the review and submit an update at the 17th AEM-India Consultations.
Mahajan said since ASEAN-India FTA, the trade deficit with ASEAN countries has increased by more than two and half times.
"As a general principle, no trade agreement is good if it leads to an unequal and imbalanced trade. After ASEAN-India FTA, various sectors including agriculture and industry were badly hit. Within industry steel, glass, telecom, and various other industries were the worst sufferers. Review of this agreement would definitely help in going towards a more equitable and balanced trade and revival these sectors," he said in a statement.
The SJM leader said the review will help bring back manufacturing and it will also go a long way towards Make in India, helping our agriculture and bring more manufacturing and jobs to India.
"We welcome this Joint Media Statement of 16th AEM-India Consultations and congratulate Goyal for making ASEAN member countries to agree on review of ASEAN-India FTA, having long term positive implications for Indian Industries and Agriculture," he stated. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Thailand Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Thailand Herald.
More InformationDHARAMSHALA, India: The Dalai Lama turned 90 on July 6, celebrated by thousands of followers in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala,...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
Phnom Penh [Cambodia], July 12 (ANI): Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita reaffirmed the 'strong and enduring...
The arbitration has in fact become an anchor around the Filipino people's neck, weighing the nation down economically, said Herman...
New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stated that every India is elated with this recognition...
New Delhi [India], July 12 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has underlined India's increasing involvement in the Indo-Pacific...
ATLANTA, Georgia: The United States is facing its worst measles outbreak in more than three decades, with 1,288 confirmed cases so...
In the past month alone, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza—three more than the number of remaining living hostages held...
LONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...