It is a list of free trade agreements between two parties in which each party could be a country (or another customs territory), a trade bloc or an informal group of countries. At a meeting on 10 September 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, India, and the group of ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) decided to begin a review of the ASEAN-India Goods Trade Agreement, which has been in force since January 2010. The main objective of the proposed revision is to make the agreement “friendly, simpler and more business-friendly.” This is an important development for India, as there is growing concern in various circles, including industry, that the benefits to India have been very limited by the free trade agreements (FTCs), which the country has signed and implemented so far, including with ASEAN. India is also part of SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement), BIMSTEC (to develop a free trade agreement), the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (preferential trade agreement with Bangladesh, China, Laos, South Korea and Sri Lanka) and IBSA (the India-Brazil-South Africa triangle, which aims to develop a free trade agreement with South Africa). First, there have been a number of lessons learned from the experience of our previous free trade agreements. In 2018, a NITI-Aayog note on free trade agreements reported india`s unrivalled and growing trade deficits as a result of free trade agreements with ASEAN, Japan and Korea. It is important that the deficit has also widened for India`s dominant value-added sectors, reflecting a deterioration in the quality of India`s trade with its free trade partners. monil shah posted 10 comments on Timesofindia.com to earn the Wordsmith Level 1 badge. It is important to note that India views free trade agreements as an important instrument for improving trade and investment and has signed a number of trade agreements with different countries or groups. India is one of the most advanced countries in Asia, with the maximum number of free trade agreements under way or under negotiation or proposed.
According to the Asian Development Institute, India has currently in force, signed or negotiated 42 trade agreements (including preferential agreements). Thirteen of them are in force, one is signed but has not yet been implemented, 16 are being negotiated and 12 are proposed/in consultation or under study. Most of the free trade agreements in force in India are with Asian countries that are very different in terms of the level of their economic development. The People`s Bank of China`s account with the Reserve Bank of India is reconstituted either by the sale of sterling to the Reserve Bank of India, or by the transfer of funds from the accounts of the People`s Bank of China or commercial banks in China to commercial banks in India. In addition to these agreements, bilateral trade negotiations are underway with Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Israel, the Economic Union of Eurasia, led by Russia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Mauritius, which would establish themselves in Africa through the African Continental Free Trade Area. Further afield, the government is at various stages of reviewing discussions with Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines, SACU (South African Customs Union) and the United Kingdom. In addition, New Delhi wanted to speed up discussions with members of the European Free Trade Association – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Mr Leichtenstein – on a separate trade pact, in parallel with discussions with the EU. It has also sought to review its existing free trade agreements with Asean, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea in order to reduce its trade deficit with these nations.