India set to sign free trade pact with ASEAN by October

May 31, 2009, 7:33 GMT

   New Delhi - India is set to sign a long-awaited free trade agreement with the Association of South-East Asian Nations by (ASEAN) by October, news reports said Sunday.

   Free trade agreements (FTAs) with the ASEAN nations and South Korea is on the 100-day agenda of the newly elected United Progressive Alliance government, aimed at energizing the economy, PTI news agency reported.

   'All the differences have been resolved and the free trade agreement would be signed either on the sidelines of ASEAN trade ministers meet in August or at the ASEAN Summit in October,' a senior Commerce Ministry official was quoted as saying.

   The signing of the FTA would open the South-East Asian markets for Indian exporters reeling from the shrinking of their main markets in the United States and Europe during the global economic slowdown.

   Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said he would soon be approaching the federal cabinet for approval of drafts of the FTAs with ASEAN and South Korea.

   Trade negotiations with the 10-nation ASEAN began in 2001 but was delayed several times due to the differences over issues like the list of restricted goods, duty cuts on farm products including palm oil and rules related to value addition.

   After negotiations concluded in late 2008, new differences arose on the methods of breaking customs' barriers.

   The ASEAN bloc, comprising Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Lao, Myanmar and Cambodia, accounts for 9.6 per cent of India's global trade.