ASEAN raps India on FTA

ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong today said he was not satisfied with the progress in negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the Asean region but hoped that the first phase of the agreement consisting of an early harvest scheme would become operational from January next year.

"I am never satisfied with the progress, I want things to move faster. However it is not realistic to expect that. But we are all on the bus and moving towards the resolution of all difficult issues.

I hope that the first milestone of implementing an early harvest for giving reduced or zero duty on a select list of products is implemented from January next year," Yong said speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of a seminar organised by non-aligned Research and Information Systems (RIS) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

Yong said that it was important for bureaucrats on both sides to change their mindsets. "The approach of India always is what can we do to sell more to Asean and we always begin with why should we always talk of buying and selling with India. This mindset must be dumped or junked if we want our economies to change for the better," he said.

"India not only makes goods but has several other advantages such as civil engineers, educational institutions and IT specialists who are not found easily in the Asean. The demand is of quality and low costs which India can easily provide. Similarly, we are no longer just selling agricultural produce but are keen to make investments in India. We want India to provide a positive climate for our investors," he said.

Asked about the impediments to higher investment into India from Asean, Yong said, "The measures are all there, the policy makers know what is needed but sometimes it becomes important to convince the parliamentarians who create a fuss."

On whether the proliferation of bilateral and regional agreements could undermine the importance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Yong said, "On the surface it appears that this would reduce the efficacy of the WTO but in real terms the regional and bilateral trade agreements would help remove impediments to movement of goods and services, thereby creating conditions where people would have a better advantage of the WTO."

"The WTO is the only body with a trade dispute resolution mechanism and therefore, if under the PTA or FTA disputes occur, the WTO rules would serve as a reference point for the member countries," he added.