< Previous | Contents | Next >
In general, multilateral trade agreements are the first best solutions for deepening global trade and development as they are founded on the core principles of non-discrimination. Meanwhile, RTAs (Regional Trade Agreements) are efforts by nations aimed at deepening economic relations, usually with neighbouring countries, and tend to be largely political in
nature. With the multilateral trade negotiations process under the WTO being a painfully slow one requiring broad-based consensus, RTAs have progressively assumed greater importance and a growing share in international trade.
While RTAs are broadly compliant with WTO mandates and remain broadly supportive of the WTO process, they remain second-best solutions that are discriminatory in nature against non-members and are inefficient as low cost producing non-members lose out to members. While bilateral RTAs have no equity considerations, mega-regional trading groups may not necessarily be equitable if membership is diverse and small countries may lose out either way—if they are part of it they may not have much say and if they are not, they may stand to lose.
India has always stood for an open, equitable, predictable, non- discriminatory and rule-based international trading system and views RTAs as building blocks in the overall objective of trade liberalization as well as complementing the multilateral trading system under the WTO.
By March 2017, India had signed 12 FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) and 6 PTAs (Preferential Trade Agreements) and all of these were in force. The net impact of the RTAs on export performance and trade outcome is a mixed bag and requires detailed analysis. India follows a gradual approach of widening the process of negotiating the FTAs. Presently, negotiations on 24 FTAs (including review) is under way:20
India-Thailand Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA): Early Harvest Scheme has been implemented on 82 items. So far 29 rounds of India-Thailand Trade Negotiation Committee (ITTNC) meetings have been held. The 29th round was held in Bangkok in June 2015.
India- New Zealand FTA/CECA: Ten rounds of negotiation have been held so far. The 10th Round was held in Delhi by February 2015.
India--SACU (South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia) PTA: Five rounds of negotiations have been held so far. The Ninth Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting was held at Durban in March 2015.
BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal) FTA: Twenty meetings of the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC)
have taken place. The 20th meeting was held in September 2015 in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand.
India-Canada FTA: Nine rounds of negotiation on the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) have so far been held. The ninth round was held in Ottawa, Canada by March 2015.
India--Australia CECA: Nine rounds of negotiations have been held so far.
The ninth round was held between by September 2015 in Delhi.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement among ASEAN + Six FTA Partners (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand): Based on the Declaration of the Leaders during the ASEAN Summit in November 2012, negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership between the 10 ASEAN member states and its six FTA partners commenced in May 2013. Fourteen rounds of negotiations have so far been held.