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The government is reviewing some of the existing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with other nations and will try to address issues in those pacts accordingly, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandeswari said here today.
"Myself and Anand Sharma (Union Commerce Minister) are currently reviewing it. I am not very sure of the time frame. But we will be examining the existing FTAs," Purandeswari told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.
"We need to look at how far the FTAs have gone and if there are any challenges or hurdles that we face and how to address them. So, that is the kind of review that is happening now," she added.
Purandeswari was chief guest at a seminar on 'Export Growth In Andhra Pradesh-potential, opportunities and challenges' organised by Andhra Pradesh Trade Promotion Corporation Limited and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Exports are expected to grow by 10-15% in the current fiscal, FIEO director general and CEO Ajay Sahai said.
"Last year, our exports stood at $300 billion. This year we expect 10 to 15% growth," Sahai said.
Replying to a query, he said the situation in Europe, which contributes nearly 18% of Indian exports, is still not promising.
"The global situation is still not conducive. Europe, which is accounting for nearly 18% of our exports, is showing minor or slight negative growth," he said.
Sahai said the loss of export growth from European region may be offset with the growth from emerging markets.
