The Union Commerce Ministry has decided to despatch a team across the country to explain the benefits of the two free trade agreements signed recently with Japan and Malaysia to the stakeholders, who expressed their serious concern over the trade pacts.
Under the FTAs, duties are slashed or eliminated on various items, which may have a bearing on domestic industry. “My colleagues will make a team and go all over the country to explain the provisions of the tariff concessions and services agreement that have been entered into so that everybody on a pan-India basis gets to know exactly what there is and what is the gain,'' Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said at a seminar here on ‘India Japan CEPA and India Malaysia CECA,' organised the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Kerala farmers had raised some concerns over the India-ASEAN agreement. Under the India-Japan CEPA, which was inked on February 16 in Tokyo, both sides would eliminate import duties on 94 per cent of the goods traded between the two sides in ten years.
The Commerce Secretary said the Indian textiles and pharmaceutical industries would get a major boost from this pact. The domestic players should start exploring business opportunities in Japan. The CEPA is expected to come into effect from April 1. Under the India-Malaysia CECA, which was signed on February 18 in Kuala Lumpur, India would get greater access to the services sector of the Southeast Asian market.
Furthermore, Malaysia would open up sectors such as accounting and auditing, architecture, urban planning, engineering, medical, dental, IT and management consultancy services to Indian companies. The CECA, which will come into force from July 1, would also benefit Malaysian construction companies, Mr. Khullar said.
“They know that India is going to invest about $1 trillion in the infrastructure sector in the coming years and the Malaysians have some of the great construction companies,'' he added.
