India is set to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) during the 14th summit of the bloc slated for February in Thailand, a media report said today.
India will submit a letter to Thailand's commerce ministry on January 26 saying it will sign the long-awaited FTA with ASEAN, during the summit next month, a Thai newspaper reported.
Under the FTA, ASEAN and India will be committed to liberalise goods trade and with lower tariff barriers, trade between India and ASEAN is expected to increase significantly from the present $28 billion annually.
To ensure that Thailand can also commit to the FTA, the commerce ministry will seek parliamentary approval to sign the pact, which requires such endorsement for international agreements.
Prolonged negotiations on the FTA concluded only last year, Malaysia's news agency Beranama in a report said adding that Thailand-based Indian trade ambassador met Thai Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai to talk on the provisions of the agreement.
Thailand now enjoys zero tariffs on only 82 items exported to India.
Taxes on about 75 per cent of trade in agricultural and industrial products will be gradually phased out by 2012, while tariffs for another 10 per cent will be eliminated in 2015. The rest 15 per cent consist of sensitive items that must be renegotiated.
