WT/COMTD/RTA14/2  
 
  
9 July 2020  
(20-4738) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English  
 
 
PREFERENTIAL TRADE A GREEMENT BETWEEN IND IA AND AFGHANISTAN  
(GOODS)  
QUESTIONS AND REPLIE S 
 The following communication is being circulated at the request of the delegations of 
Afghanistan  and India . 
 
 The document reproduces the questions addressed to the Parties and the replies  submitted.  
 
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Question from the Delegation of Thailand  
 
Refer to Para  3.8 Under Annex C (rules of Determination of Origin of Goods under the PTA 
between Afghanistan and the Republic of India), products must either be wholly obtained 
in the Parties  or …,  therefore does it stipulate that Wholly produced or obtained criteria 
could be originating either from India and Afghanistan due to it is reported that WO in the 
Parties  ?  
 
Answer : As per Annexure C of the Agreement, wholly produced or obtained criteria applies to the 
products wholly produced or obtained in the territory of the e xporting Contracting Party.  
 
Questions from the Delegation of the United States  
 
Question 1  
 
Institutional Framework  
Page 15, paragraph 4.7.  
 
The India -Afghanistan Preferential Trade Agreement establishes a Joint Committee at the 
Ministerial level to review progress made in implementing the Agreement and to ensure 
that the benefits of trade expansion as a result of the Agreement accrue to both P arties 
equitably. The Factual Presentation notes that the institutional framework is not in 
operation, but the SAFTA institutional framework applies. Could the Parties please explain 
how this works in practice?  
 
Answer : Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,  Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka entered into the 
Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), which came into effect from 1st January 2006 . 
Under Article 10 of SAFTA, SAFTA Ministerial Council, consisting of the Ministers of Trade/Commerce 
of the contr acting states has been established, which is responsible for the administration and 
implementation of this Agreement and all decisions and arrangements made within its legal 
framework. The SAFTA Ministerial Council is supported by a Committee of Experts, w ith one nominee 
from each Contracting State, at the level of a Senior Economic Official, having expertise in trade 
matters. The Committee of Experts monitors, reviews and facilitates implementation of the 
provisions of SAFTA and undertakes any task assigne d to it by the SAFTA Ministerial Council. Thus, 
SAFTA Committee of Experts and SAFTA Ministerial Council ensure that the benefits of trade 
expansion accrue to the SAFTA contracting states.  
 WT/COMTD/RTA14/2  
 
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  Afghanistan became the eighth member of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 
(SAARC), as a Least Developed Country in  April 2007  and acceded to SAFTA through a Protocol of 
Accession of Afghanistan to SAFTA, signed in  August 2008.  
 
For the reason that the Preferential Trade Agreement  between Indi a and Afghanistan, and the SAFTA 
Agreement are two different legal instruments (one bilateral and the other regional), and that India 
under SAFTA affords  much more broad -based  tariff preference s to LDCs , including Afghanistan, 
SAFTA institutional framework  is in operation.  
 
Question 2  
 
Table A1.4 India: Market access opportunities under the agreement for Afghanistan’s top  
25 exports to the world  
 
According to this table, all but two of Afghanistan’s top 25 exports to the world remain 
dutiable under this agreement. How does India justify this lack of tariff liberalization, 
particularly for a least developed country (LDC)? Does India give Afghanistan tariff 
preferences outside this PTA?  
 
Could Afghanistan please explain the value of this PTA when such a lar ge share of its 
exports remain  dutiable into  India?   
 
Answer : India-Afghanistan Preferential Trade Agreement [PTA] entered into force on 13 May 2003  
wherein India extended liberalized market access for Afghanistan products, by reducing the tariffs  
to zero on 42 lines, and reducing tariffs  by 50% of applied MFN rate on other 31 lines.  Afghanistan 
on its part agreed to reduce duties to zero  on 8 lines.  
 
Subsequently in August 2008, Afghanistan  acceded to SAFTA , and India extended tariff prefer ences 
under SAFTA to Afghanistan also . Under SAFTA , all Afghanistan products (except 25 lines covering 
alcohol and tobacco) enjoy duty free access to I ndian market.  
 
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