'Important to ensure trade agreements are real & not illusory'

Emphasising on creating mutually beneficial trade agreements between India and ASEAN, Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar today said that it is important to ensure that trade agreements are "for real and not illusory".
Nasscom represents the over USD 140 billion IT-ITeS industry.
Chandrashekhar said diagnosis of the problems affecting trade between the regions needs to be an honest effort so as to ensure a real solution to it.
"It is very important to ensure that in trade agreements the access is for real and is not illusory," he told PTI on the sidelines of the business session of the Delhi Dialogue VII, organised by Ministry of External Affairs, ASEAN India and industry body FICCI here.

He further said: "The access that India gives in terms of goods as well as a 1.2 billion-strong market should be reciprocated. India should get the same treatment in terms of services, which is a great business strength of the country."
Earlier during the day, Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa said India-ASEAN trade was well below potential, but the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) pact -- expected to conclude later this year -- will help boost trade to USD 200 billion by 2022.

"The FTA in goods has helped us but now we have signed the comprehensive FTA, which is going to conclude later on this year. Only three countries have ratified from ASEAN. We are waiting for the rest of the ratifications. We think it (conclusion of RCEP) might be towards October".

Implementation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Goods was signed in 2009. It translated into increase in bilateral trade, which rose from under USD 44 billion in 2009-10 to over USD 74 billion in 2013-14.
RCEP is a proposed comprehensive free trade pact among 10 ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and six partners with which they have free trade agreements (FTAs), including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
The pact seeks to include goods, services, investments, competition and intellectual property and is targeted to be concluded this year.