Since further multilateral trade liberalizations agenda at the WTO is not moving forward (its nearly a decade since the Doha Round started—the Uruguay Round took eight years to complete), India is moving on with “Plan B”, which includes bilateral and regional trade deals. More here
| INDIA’S BILATERAL TRADE TALKS | ||
| Partner | Start of | Status |
| Thailand | 2001 | Under negotiation; likely to be signed in 2010 |
| Singapore | 2002 | Signed in December 2007; to be reviewed |
| Sri Lanka | 2003 | Under negotiation |
| Mauritius | 2003 | Under negotiation |
| China | 2003 | Joint feasibility study underway |
| Asean | 2003 | Trade in goods pact signed in August 2009; agreement on services to be signed soon |
| Malaysia | 2004 | Likely to be signed by December 2010 |
| BIMSTEC | 2004 | Under negotiation |
| GCC | 2004 | Under negotiation |
| Japan | 2005 | To be signed in October 2010 |
| SACU | 2005 | Under negotiation |
| Chile | 2005 | Signed in March 2006; to be reviewed |
| Israel | 2006 | Under negotiation |
| SAFTA | 2006 | In force |
| EU | 2006 | Under negotiation |
| EFTA | 2008 | Under negotiation |
| Australia | 2008 | Joint feasibility study underway |
| Nepal | 2009 | Treaty in force until 2016 |
| South Korea | 2009 | Under negotiation |
| New Zealand | 2009 | Under negotiation |
| Indonesia | 2009 | Joint feasibility study underway |
| Turkey | 2010 | Joint feasibility study underway |
| Pakistan | _ | No formal agreement; Most Favoured Nation status accorded |
| Asean = Laos, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines BIMSTEC = Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar GCC = Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Oman SACU = South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia SAFTA = India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan EFTA = Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein | ||
India’s style of negotiating trade deals:
[..] India’s approach to trade talks has also evolved in the last seven years. For instance, the cloud of secrecy has given way to a consultative process, where industry associations and trade bodies are consulted and their concerns taken on board. FTAs are generally negotiated based on the feedback of the industry chambers and associations, which form the main basis of the negotiating text for the government. Even though the ministry of commerce and industry negotiates the deals, inputs and suggestions are also sought from other ministries and departments.
One reason for this is the improved political management of trade negotiations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh created a new institutional framework for trade policy formulation within the government by creating the trade and economic relations committee (TERC), which includes the Cabinet ministers for external affairs, finance, commerce & industry, agriculture, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and senior officials. TERC has played an important role in securing governmental green signals for FTAs. It has enabled the external affairs ministry to bring to bear considerations relating to foreign and strategic policy on FTAs. When the India-Asean FTA faced domestic political hurdles, for example, it was the external affairs ministry that gave the needed push by underlining the importance of closer strategic relations with Asean.
That apart, Indian industry’s attitude to FTAs has changed. “You cannot compare India of seven years ago with the India of today,” said a commerce ministry official. Over the last few years, Indian industry has also realised it can compete favourably in the global marketplace. “Besides, it has realised that we may have a scarcity of some product today, but five years from now, we might be world-beaters. We are factoring all this in when we go out to negotiate,” the official added.
