WT/COMTD/RTA17/M/1  
 
11 December 2020  
(20-8961) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Twelfth Dedicated Session on Regional Trade  
Agreements    
 
 COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (CEPA) BETWEEN INDIA AND 
THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA (GOODS)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 20 NOVEMBER 2020  
Chairman: H.E. Mr. Mohammad Qurban Haqjo (Afghanistan)  
1.  The 12th Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) of the Committee on Trade  and 
Development (CTD) was convened in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/RTA/7/Rev.1 of 
10 November  2020.1 Under item  D (II) of the agenda, the Committee considered the Comprehensive 
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the Republic of Korea (Goods) 
(WT/COMTD/RTA17/N/1, WT/COMTD/RTA17/1, WT/COMTD/RTA17/2). The present document 
contains the minutes relating to the consideration of this agreement.2 
2.  The Chairman  said that  the goods aspects of the CEPA between India and the Republic of Korea 
were notified by India under paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause on 27 September 2010. The 
notification was originally circulated on 29 September 2010 in document WT/COMTD/N/36, and t hen 
re-circulated on 26 August 2020 in document WT/COMTD/RTA17/N/1, in accordance with the new 
symbols for notifications and subsequent documentation relating to RTAs agreed to by the CTD at 
its 108th Regular Session on 5 April 2019. He recalled that the g oods aspects of the agreement were 
also notified under GATT Article XXIV – by the Republic of Korea, on 23 June 2010 in 
document  WT/REG286/N/1. The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) had undertaken 
its consideration of the goods aspects of the a greement at its meeting of 18 November 2020. The 
factual presentation on the agreement – document WT/COMTD/RTA17/1 dated 28 August 2020 – 
had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility, and in full consultation with the 
parties. The written  questions received from Members for the CTD's consideration of the agreement, 
as well as the replies from the parties, were circulated in document WT/COMTD/RTA17/2.  
3.  The representative of India said that the India -Korea CEPA came into force on 1 January 2 010. 
The agreement provided for both countries to lower or eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of 
goods, and to expand opportunities for investments and services. As noted in the factual 
presentation, tariff liberalization under the agreement had take n place in phases. Following the latest 
liberalization in 2017, India offered duty -free access for Korean imports on 6,939 tariff lines, which 
was about 61.3% of total tariff lines. During the initial year of operation of the CEPA in 2010 -2011, 
bilateral t rade between India and Korea increased by about 24% – with Indian exports increasing 
by about 31% and Korean exports increasing by about 22%. On the services side, the CEPA allowed 
for the mutual expansion of job opportunities for computer specialists, eng ineers, managing 
consultants and assistant English teachers. The trade and economic relations between India and 
the Republic of Korea had gathered momentum after the signing of the agreement, with annual 
bilateral trade reaching USD 21.3 billion in 2018, t hereby crossing the USD 20 billion mark for the 
first time. Indian imports from Korea had almost doubled – from around USD 8 billion in 2009 -2010 
to USD 16 billion in 2018 -2019 – while India’s exports to Korea had increased marginally and were 
now almost s tagnant at around USD 5 billion, resulting in an increasing trade imbalance. For 
 
1 Due to the restrictive measures for meetings in place in Geneva in the context of COVID -19, all 
delegations were invited to follow the meeting remotely . The Chairman, who was also participating remotely, 
indicated that he had  requested the Secretariat to stand in as required if any difficulties were encountered with 
his connection.  
2 The general minutes of the CTD's 12th Dedicated Session on RTAs are contained in document 
WT/COMTD/RTA/M/12.  WT/COMTD/RTA17/M/1  
 
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  long-term sustainability, it was essential to have a mutually beneficial and balanced trade. In 
conclusion, he thanked the delegations of Brazil, the United States, Canada, Mexico, China and 
Ecuador for their interest in the agreement and the questions raised on the factual presentation. 
Replies had been provided to all the questions, and his delegation stood ready to respond to any 
further questions from Members.  
4.  The representative of the Republic of Korea  thanked Members for their interest in the 
Korea -India CEPA, and for the insightful questions. He also thanked India for its strong partnership. 
His delegation saw great merit in the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs ( RTA TM), as it kept 
Members informed of recent developments in other Members’ RTAs, and provided opportunities for 
a deeper understanding of them. He hoped that the present meeting would help Members to better 
understand the Korea -India CEPA. After the com mencement of the Korea -India CEPA negotiations 
at the summit in February 2006, the parties had held a total of 15 rounds of negotiations from March 
2006 to August 2008. Korea and India then officially signed the deal in August 2009, brought it into 
force i n January 2010, and had been smoothly implementing the agreement since then. The 
Korea -India CEPA consisted of 15 chapters, ranging from Chapter One, "General Provisions and 
Definitions "; to Chapter Fifteen , "Administrative and Final Provisions ". It was a comprehensive trade 
agreement that covered most general trade regulations, such as trade in goods, rules of origin, and 
trade facilitation. Regarding trade in goods, the agreement included the general principles of national 
treatment and market access for goods. In terms of concessions, 88.6% of Korean tariff lines had 
already been eliminated as of 2019, which was the tenth year since the CEPA’s entry into force. It 
was believed that the CEPA was fully consistent with both countries' WTO obligations, and ev en went 
beyond their WTO commitments in a number of areas. Since the entry into force of the pact in 
January 2010, bilateral trade volume between Korea and India had increased by 70% – from 
USD 12 billion in 2009 to USD 21 billion in 2019. Investment flows  had grown over the same period 
by 124% – from USD 349 million to USD 782 million. He was confident that this trend would 
continue, against the backdrop of close cooperation between the parties. From 2016, Korea and 
India had been negotiating to upgrade th e CEPA in various areas – including goods, services and 
investment, with a goal to maximize the effects of the agreement so that both countries could enjoy 
additional benefits. In closing, he once again thanked the Members that had submitted written 
questi ons on the agreement. Responses had been provided to all the questions, and his delegation 
stood ready to respond to any further questions that were submitted.  
5.  The representative of China  thanked the parties for their transparency, and for their replies t o 
the questions from her delegation . She indicated that the rep lies were being studied in  her capital.  
6.  The representative of Japan  expressed appreciation to the parties for having provided responses 
to the questions from his delegation . He said that h is delegation did not have any further questions 
at the present time.  
7.  The representative of the United States  thanked the parties for their presentation of the 
agreement, and for having provided replies to the questions from her delegation . She stressed t he 
importance of the transparency exercise.  
8.  The representative of the European Union  expressed her delegation’s appreciation to the parties 
for the transparency provided.  
9.  The Chairman  said that oral discussion of the CEPA between India and the Republic of Korea 
could be concluded in accordance with paragraph 11 of the RTA TM. Follow -up questions by Members 
would need to be submitted in writing to the Secretariat within one week, by 27 November 2020. 
The parties would then be given two weeks to submit writte n replies, by no later than 
11 December  2020. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the RTA TM, all written submissions as well 
as the minutes of the present meeting would be circulated promptly in all WTO official languages, 
and would be made available on th e WTO website.  
10.  The Committee took note  of all interventions.  
 
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