FTAs not beneficial for chemical & petrochemical sectors: FICCI

Industry body FICCI has released a research report with consulting firm Matt MacDonald which concludes that most free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by India have not helped the chemical and petrochemical sectors. The report says that the Indian chemical and petrochemical sectors are not competitive because of various factors including high cost of capital and lack of infrastructure.

The report also opines that the agreements done so far have mostly focused on reduction/elimination of tariff without giving due consideration to other factors that affect trade. This has led to an increase in the trade gap with these countries.