After
15 years of inking the Free Trade Agreement with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), India plans to modify it. So far, India has been
offering a single tariff schedule for all the 10 ASEAN nations but it now wants
the flexibility to offer concessions to each ASEAN country on a bilateral
basis. The third round of the
negotiations are scheduled to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, from July 29 to
31, and the review is expected to be completed by 2025.
India is preparing for discussions on
concessions.
Under the current arrangement, India cannot selectively open up sectors
to some ASEAN countries while protecting them from others due to specific
sensitivities. A single tariff schedule does not allow for such nuance.