Lok Sabha Question No. 2880 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-03
Subject: FTA with UAE
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Nitesh Ganga Deb

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2880 TO BE ANSWERED ON 3 rd  AUGUST, 2022

## FTA WITH UAE

## 2880. SHRI NITESH GANGA DEB:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  India  has  signed  a  Free  Trade  Agreement  (FTA)  with  United  Arab Emirates (UAE) to boost trade between the two countries;
- (b) if so, the details of products identified by both the countries under FTA;
- (c) whether any target has to be achieved by both the countries by the year 2025; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h ¼Jherh vuqfiz;k iVsy½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

- (a): Yes.  India  and  the  United  Arab  Emirates  (UAE)  signed  the  Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 18th February, 2022, on the sidelines of the India-UAE Virtual Summit, to boost trade between the two countries. The India-UAE CEPA entered into force on 01 May 2022.
- (b): The  India-UAE CEPA is a comprehensive agreement, which covers, inter-alia , Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of  Natural  Persons,  Telecom,  Customs  Procedures,  Pharmaceutical  products, Government  Procurement,  Intellectual  Property,  Investment  and  Trade,  Digital Trade and Cooperation in other Areas.

The CEPA between India and the UAE covers almost all the 8-digit Harmonized System (HS) tariff lines of India (11,908) and the UAE (7,581) respectively. India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97 % of its tariff lines which account for 99% of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms.

Labour-intensive sectors such as Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, leather, footwear, sports  goods,  plastics,  furniture,  agricultural  and  wood  products,  engineering products,  medical  devices,  and  Automobiles  are  expected  to  be  among  the  top gainers for India. Tariff concessions offered to the UAE by India, especially on raw materials and intermediate products such as crude petroleum, certain petrochemicals, and Gold, will in turn reduce the input costs for the downstream labour-intensive industries like Gems & Jewellery and Plastics, and provide a boost to domestic manufacturing of these downstream products.

## Summary of tariff Concessions Exchanged between India and the UAE

|                       | India                          | India           | UAE                            | UAE             |
|-----------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------|--------------------------------|-----------------|
| Tariff modality       | No of lines (HS 8-digit level) | %of total lines | No of lines (HS 8-digit level) | %of total lines |
| TEI                   | 7694                           | 64.61%          | 6090                           | 80.33%          |
| TEP (in 5/7/10 years) | 2401                           | 20.16%          | 1269                           | 16.74%          |
| TR/TRQ                | 656                            | 5.51            | 35                             | 0.46%           |
| Exclusion             | 1157                           | 9.72            | 187                            | 2.47%           |
| Total lines           | 11908                          | 100%            | 7581                           | 100%            |

Description  of  Tariff  Modalities: TEI:  Tariff  Elimination  Immediate;  TEP:  Tariff Elimination Phased; TR: Tariff Reduction; TRQ: Tariff Rate Quota

Schedules of Specific Tariff Commitments of India and the UAE, respectively, on Trade in Goods under the India-UAE CEPA are available in public domain at:

https://commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chapter-2-Annex-2ACopy-of-India-UAE-CEPA-Final-Offer-to-UAE-Schedule-of-Tariff-Concessions-As- shared-on-20.12.21-1045AM.pdf

https://commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chapter-2-Annex-2B-

Final-UAE-Revised-Market-Access-Offer-2118-Dec-18-2021.pdf

As regards trade in services, while India has committed around 100 sub-sectors, the UAE has committed around 111 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors such as 'business services', 'communication  services', 'construction and related engineering services', 'distribution services', 'educational services', 'environmental services', 'financial services', 'health related and social services', 'tourism and travel related services', 'recreational cultural and sporting services' and 'transport services'.

Schedules of Specific Commitments of India and the UAE, respectively, on Trade in Services are also available in public domain at:

Chapter-8-Annex-8A.pdf (commerce.gov.in)

https://commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chapter-8-Annex-8B.pdf

(c) & (d): Bilateral trade in goods is projected to increase from around USD 60 billion (in FY 2019-20) to USD 100 billion annually within five years of implementation of the India-UAE CEPA.

*****