WT/REG372/M/1  
 
24 November 2016 
(16-6449) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Eighty -third Session    
 
 AGREEMENT ON TRADE I N SERVICES BETWEEN IND IA AND  
THE ASSOCIATION OF S OUTHEAST ASIAN NATIO NS, 
(SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 7-8 NOVEMBER  2016 
Chairman: Ambassador Daniel BLOCKERT (Sweden)  
1.1.  The 83rd Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements ( hereinafter 'CRTA' or the 
'Committee') was convened in Airgram  WTO/AIR/RTA/8 /Rev.1  dated 2 8 October 2016. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item D.III of the session, the CRTA considered the  Agreement on Trade in 
Services between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Na tions (ASEAN), services, 
(hereinafter "the Agreement").  
1.3.  The Chairman  said that t he Agreement had entered into force on 1 July 2015. It had been  
notified to the WTO by the Parties on 20 August 2015 under GATS  Article  V:7(a) as an Agreement 
providing for the  liberalization of trade in services within the meaning of Article V of the GATS 
(document S/C/N/ 822). The text of the Agreement was available, together with its Annexes, on 
the Parties' official websites.  The Factual Presentation on the services aspect s 
(document  WT/REG 372/1 dated 22 August 2016 ) and questions and replies on th e Agreement 
(document WT/REG372 /2 dated 25 October 2016)  had been distributed . 
1.4.  The representative of Thailand , on behalf of ASEAN  member States, welcome d the 
opportunity to present t he Agreement  that had been  signed on 13 November 2014 and had 
entered into force on 1 July 2015. It was the fourth agreement negotiated and concluded under 
the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and India.  
1.5.  The Agreement  was divided into four parts with 34 articles. Part I provide d for the scope and 
definition of the Agreement. Part II contain ed the main obligations and disciplines imposed on the 
Parties, including transparency, disclosure of confidential information, dom estic regulation, 
recognition, monopolies and exclusive service suppliers, business practices, safeguards, and 
exceptions. Part III addresse d the Parties' specific commitments covering market access and 
national treatment, as well as additional commitments . Each Party's schedule of specific 
commitments we re attached to and form ed an integral part of the Agreement. Part IV contain ed 
final and institutional provisions . The Agreement also include d an Annex on the Movement of 
Natural Persons. In addition, the G ATS Annexes on the M ovement of Natural Persons Supplying 
Services, Air Transport Services, Financial Services, and Telecommunications also appl ied to the 
Agreement.  
1.6.  The services sector  was vital to ASEAN  member States, accounting for about half of their 
combined GDP and 60 % of their total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. ASEAN recognize d 
the key role that trade in services c ould play in its development as it provide d indispensable inputs 
for other sectors of the economy, contributing to economic gr owth and job creation. In this 
connection, ASEAN attache d great importance to further liberalization and promotion of the 
services sector in the region to enable its member states  to realize the full benefits offered by 
trade in services.  
1.7.  The Agreement ha d led to deeper integration of a services market which comprise d 1.9 billion 
people, with a combined GDP of US$4.5 trillion. In 2015, ASEAN and India bilateral trade had WT/REG372/M/1  
 
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  stood at US $58.5 billion, accounting for 2.6%  of ASEAN 's total trade, making India ASEA N's sixth 
largest trading partner. Meanwhile, FDI flows from India to ASEAN had amounted to 
US$1.6 billion, ranking India as ASEAN 's eighth largest source of FDI. The successful conclusion of 
the Agreement ha d strengthened relations between ASEAN and India  as strategic partners towards 
jointly promoting economic growth and increasing the welfare of their people.  
1.8.  ASEAN member States were fully committed to the rules -based multilateral trading system 
under the WTO. They believe d that, through the collective e ffort of liberalizing and expanding 
trade in services in the region, the Agreement on Trade in Services between ASEAN and India 
could complement and strengthen the multilateral framework towards progressive liberalization of 
trade in services.   
1.9.  On a final note, ASEAN member States thank ed the CRTA for considering  the Agreement and 
the Secretariat for its hard work in preparing the Factual Presentation. ASEAN also thank ed the 
Indian delegation for the fruitful collaboration during the preparation for th e meeting. They 
appreciate d the interest shown by Members, including Japan, the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu ( Chinese Taipei ), and the United States who ha d submitted 
written questions. ASEAN member States hoped that the answer s that they had  provided prior to 
the meeting would help clarify the various points raised  and would  be happy to forward any further 
written questions from Members to their respective capitals for a response  in due course.  
1.10.   The representative of India thank ed the WTO Secretariat , his colleagues from ASEAN 
member States for their excellent cooperation in the joint preparatory work , and the delegations of 
Japan, Chinese Taipei  and the United States for showing interest in the Agreement by submitt ing 
advance wr itten questions.  
1.11.   ASEAN had been a strategic partner of India since 2012. The relationship h ad evolved from 
the 'Look East Policy ' enunciated in the early 1990s which had led India to become a Sectoral 
Partner of ASEAN in 1992, a Dialogue Partner in 1996 an d a Summit -level Partner in 2002. India 
and ASEAN ha d 30 dialogue mechanisms which me t regularly, including a Summit and seven  
Ministerial meetings in Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Tourism, Agriculture, Environment, Renewable 
Energy and Telecommunications. Th e India -ASEAN Strategic Partnership had acquired new 
momentum with the announcement of  the "Act-East Policy " in the 12th Summit in 2014.  It had 
conveyed a clear intent on the part of India to up -scaling its engagement with ASEAN member 
States. The 14th ASE AN-India Summit had been  held recently in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 
8 September 2016.  
1.12.   Trade between India and ASEAN amounted to  US$65.04 billion in 2015 -16 and comprise d 
10.12% of India 's total trade with the world. Investment flows were also substantial both ways, 
with ASEAN accounting for approximately 12.5% of investment flows into India since 2000. FDI 
inflows into India from ASEAN from April 2007  to March 2015 were about US$32.44 billion , 
whereas FDI outflows from India to ASEAN member states , from April 2 007 to March 2015, were 
about US$38.67 billion.  
1.13.   In commercial services, India ranked fifth globally in terms of both global exports and 
imports, amounting to US$156 billion and US$147 billion, respectively in 2014. This represent ed 
3.15% and 3.07% of world  exports and imports, respectively. Services play ed an important role in 
the Indian economy and contribute d to about 60% of its GDP. In the past several years the 
services sector ha d grown at a faster rate than the overall GDP rate of growth and exports of  
services ha d been growing at a much faster rate than merchandise exports.  
1.14.   On 8 October 2003, India and ASEAN  had signed  the ASEAN -India Framework  Agreement  
on Comprehensive  Economic  Cooperation  which had laid a sound  basis for the establishment  of the 
ASEAN-India Agreement that  include d an FTA in goods,  services  and investment. Under the 
Framework Agreement, the following agreements had been  negotiated : (i) the Agreement on 
Trade in Goods signed on 13 August 2009 ; (ii) the ASEAN -India Agreement on a dispu te 
settlement mechanism signed on 13 August 2009 ; (iii) Agreement on Trade in Services signed on 
13 November 2014 and ; (iv) the Agreement on investment signed on 12 November 2014.  
Following the entry into force of the ASEAN -India Trade in Services and Inve stment Agreements 
on 1 July 2015, the ASEAN -India FTA wa s now complete.  WT/REG372/M/1  
 
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  1.15.   The Agreement on trade in services provide d business certainty to service providers from 
both India and ASEAN member States and wa s expected to strengthen business and commercial 
relations between the Parties . The Agreement was based on the GATS and follow ed a positive list 
modality for sc heduling. Both India and ASEAN member States ha d taken GATS plus commitments 
in various services and modes of supply. Each ASEAN member State ha d tabled an individual 
schedule of commitments which was equally applicable for India and other ASEAN member States. 
India on the other hand ha d tabled three schedules of commitments , one for the Philippines, one 
for Indonesia and one for the remaining eight AS EAN member States.  
1.16.   An Annex on the Movement of Natural persons ha d been included in the Agreement.  
Independent professionals ha d not been defined in the Annex, however a review clause ha d been 
included in the Agreement. Such a definition could possibly be  incorporated through future 
reviews. No separate annex on financial services and telecom services ha d been included in the 
Agreement.  
1.17.   India was also participating  in the negotiation  for establishing  the Regional  Comprehensive  
Economic  Partnership  Agreeme nt (RCEP)  involving  ASEAN  and six FTA partners . Conclusion of a 
balanced RCEP would further boost India's  trade and investment ties with the region.  He concluded 
by saying that substantial scope existed  for India and ASEAN member States to explore 
compleme ntarities and to harness the full potential of trade and investment ties. India look ed 
forward to working closely with ASEAN members to further expand trade linkages for mutual 
benefit.  
1.18.   The representative of Japan  was somewhat disappointed about  the fact that the 
commitments of individual Parties  were based on a positive -list approach and that many of the 
Parties' commitments were similar to those made in GATS. While Japan appreciated the Parties' 
responses to its questions , as indicated in its advance wri tten questions Japan was interested in 
the commitments of Lao PDR, Malaysia and Thailand that were  lower than th ose of the GATS. 
Article 23 of the Agreement provided that "nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to 
derogate from any right and obligati on of a Party under the WTO Agreement", and according ly it 
seemed  meaningless to make lower level commitments than those of the GATS. Japan would 
submit an additional question on the issue , but would appreciate an initial comment from the 
Parties . 
1.19.   The repr esentative of the United States  appreciated the detailed presentations provided by 
the Parties and the responses to its advance  questions. On a general note, he echoed the 
disappointment expressed by Japan with respect to the overall low level of ambition in the 
Agreement, and in particular, the GATS minus outcomes that appeared to have been 
contemplated. He looked forward to the responses to Japan's questions. In a previous conversation 
India had indicated that one of the criteria for RTAs was inclusivenes s and he assumed that 
"inclusive " meant "inclusive of all trade ", as he  was not sure what else it could mean. He asked the 
Parties to help Members understand what an inclusive RTA was and to explain what elements of  
the Agreement spoke to its inclusiveness . 
1.20.   The representative of the European Union  said that the multi -party trade Agreement had 
been concluded by no less than 11 members. The EU supported such a multi -party approach which 
it believed could contribute to facilitating rule making at the multilate ral level and deepen ing 
economic integration in the region.  
1.21.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  shared the views expressed by Japan and the United 
States , echoing its disappoint ment in  a GATS -minus outcome. Her delegation might have further 
questions afte r it had examined the Parties' responses.  
1.22.   The representative of Thailand , in response to the question posed by Japan on the level of 
commitment s that Thailand had offered in the Agreement, said that its  commitments in the 
Agreement were lower compared to t hose of the GATS only in terms of the coverage of sectors or 
subsectors. For example, under the Agreement, Thailand did not make commitments in sectors 
such as telecommunications services, education services, environmental services, and financial 
services . In response to the question by Chinese Taipei, she said that the Agreement was a stand -
alone services Agreement between India and ASEAN and services liberalization commitments had 
been made with the aim of mutual benefits and a balanced outcome. Although Thailand's WT/REG372/M/1  
 
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  commitments under the Agreement had dropped in terms of the sectors covered compared to the 
GATS, this was not the case for its commitments on mode 4 , which was the area of interest for 
India. For instance,  the type of natural persons covered wa s broader and the duration of stay was 
longer than in Thailand's GATS commitments. In terms of scope, Thailand's commitments  might be 
lower than its GATS commitments but in terms of the type , period, or quality of commitments in 
some parts it could be cons idered as GATS plus.  
1.23.   The representative of Malaysia  said that more information on its commitments would be 
provided at a later date based on her capital's analysis.  
1.24.   The representative of India asked Members to submit any follow up questions in writing so 
that the Parties could forward them to capital for responses.  
1.25.   The Chairman  said that the consideration of the Agreement on Trade in Services between 
India and ASEAN  had allowed the Committee  to clarify a number of questions and it now conclude d 
oral discuss ion of th e RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism. If any 
delegations wish ed to ask follow -up questions they were invited to forward submissions in writing 
to the Secretariat by 14 November 2016 and Parties were asked to submit r eplies in writing by no 
later than 28 November 2016. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism 
all written submissions, as well as minutes of th e meeting would  be circulated promptly, in all 
WTO official languages, and would  be made ava ilable on the WTO website.  
1.26.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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