Lok Sabha Question No. 53 (STARRED), answered on 2019-11-20
Subject: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Dean Kuriakose, Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 53

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 th NOVEMBER, 2019

## REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP

- *53. ADV. DEAN KURIAKOSE: PROF. SAUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वािण�य एवं उ�ोग मं�ी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  sign  the  Regional  Comprehensive  Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) if  not,  whether there  is any confusion over the participation  in  RCEP and  if  so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether  some  State  Governments  including  Kerala  have  submitted  representations  raised concerns on the participation in RCEP and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has conducted any discussion with the stakeholders with regard to RCEP and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether India has signed in the Free Trade Agreements, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w'k xks;y ) THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (e):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 53   FOR ANSWER ON 20 th NOVEMBER,2019 REGARDING 'REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP'.

(a) to (b) During the 3 rd RCEP Leaders Summit which was held on 4 November, 2019 in  Bangkok; India stated that the current structure of RCEP did not reflect the RCEP Guiding Principles or address the outstanding issues and concerns of India, in the light of which India did not join RCEP.

(c)  to  (d)  The  Government  held  regular  stakeholders'  consultations  with  industry, exporters,  and  trade  experts  for  taking  inputs  for  formulating  India's  positions  in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Some of the State Governments including  Kerala  have  provided  specific  inputs,  which  were taken  into account in the negotiations.

(e)    The  details  of  free  trade  agreements  (FTAs)  and  preferential  trade  agreements (PTAs) signed by India, with the details thereof are given at 'Annexure 1'.

## A. FTA's already in force

|   S. No. | Name of the Agreement                                                                                                                                                                                       | Date of Signing of the Agreement                                                          | Date of Implementation of the Agreement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | India - Sri Lanka FTA                                                                                                                                                                                       | 28th December. 1998                                                                       | 1 st March, 2000                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|        2 | Agreement on SAFTA (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan)                                                                                                    | 4 th January, 2004                                                                        | 1st January, 2006 (Tariff concessions implemented from 1 st July, 2006)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|        3 | India Nepal Treaty of Trade                                                                                                                                                                                 | 27 th October 2009                                                                        | The Treaty has been extended for a further period of 7 years and is currently in force till 26 th October 2023.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|        4 | India - Bhutan Agreement on Trade Commerce and Transit                                                                                                                                                      | 17 th January, 1972                                                                       | Renewed periodically, with mutually agreed modifications. Agreement dated 29 th July 2006 was valid for 10 years. With mutual consent, the validity was extended for a period of one year or the period till the proposed new Agreement comes into force. The renewed Agreement has been signed on 12.11.2016 and came into force with effect from 29 July 2017.                                                                                                                                                      |
|        5 | India - Thailand FTA - Early Harvest Scheme (EHS)                                                                                                                                                           | 9 th October, 2003                                                                        | 1 st September, 2004                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|        6 | India - Singapore CECA                                                                                                                                                                                      | 29 th June, 2005                                                                          | 1st August, 2005                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|        7 | India - ASEAN- CECA - Trade in Goods, Services and Investment Goods, Services and Investment Agreement (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) | 13 th August, 2009 for goods and for goods and November, 2014 for Services and Investment | Goods 1st January 2010 in respect of India and 1st January 2010 in respect of India and Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand. 1 st June 2010 in respect of India and Vietnam. 1 st September 2010 in respect of India and Myanmar. 1 st October 2010 in respect of India and Indonesia. 1 st November 2010 in respect of India and Brunei. 24 January 2011 in respect of India and Laos. 1 st June 2011 in respect of India and the Philippines. 1 st August, 2011 in respect of India and Cambodia. Services and Investment |
|        8 | India - South Korea CEPA                                                                                                                                                                                    | 7 th August 2009                                                                          | 1 st January, 2010                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|        9 | India - Japan CEPA                                                                                                                                                                                          | 16 th February, 2011                                                                      | 1 st August, 2011                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|       10 | India - Malaysia CECA                                                                                                                                                                                       | 18 th February, 2011                                                                      | 1 st July, 2011                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

## Annexure I

## B. PTAs already in force:

|   Sl. No. | Name of the Agreement                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | Date of Signing of the Agreement            | Date of Implementation of the Agreement                                                                                    |
|-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) (Bangladesh, China, India, Republic of Korea, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Sri Lanka)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | July, 1975 (revised on 2 nd November, 2005) | 1st Nov, 1976                                                                                                              |
|         2 | Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) (Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Tanzania, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe) Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe) | 13 th April, 1988                           | 19 th April, 1989                                                                                                          |
|         3 | SAARC Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | 11 April, 1993                              | 7 December, 1995                                                                                                           |
|         4 | India - Afghanistan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | 6 th March, 2003                            | 13 th May, 2003                                                                                                            |
|         5 | India - MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | 25 th January, 2004                         | 1st June, 2009                                                                                                             |
|         6 | India - Chile                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | 8 th March, 2006                            | 11 th September, 2007. The agreement has been expanded on 6 th September, 2016 and came into force w.e.f. 16 th May, 2017. |