CIM reviews India’s past FTAs

According to official sources, the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Piyush Goyal has studied India’s past FTAs in detail and the extent of gain it has provided to partner countries. The NDA government did not sign any FTAs in its previous term, and even the existing ones have been strongly criticised by the industry for the access provided to partner countries at preferential interest rates. The utilisation of FTAs by Indian exporters is also relatively poor due to lack of awareness, complex rules of origin requirements and some other technical issues. In particular, these FTAs have negatively impacted sectors like steel, electronics, chemicals, textiles and agricultural items like spices and vanaspati.