Lok Sabha Question No. 1360 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-09
Subject: FTAs with Major Export Destinations
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1360 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09 th  FEBRUARY, 2022

## FTAs WITH MAJOR EXPORT DESTIONATIONS

## 1360.   SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU:

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

- (a) whether the country needs to actively pursue Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with major export destinations like the European Union and the United States to push apparel shipments amid increasing competition from Bangladesh and Cambodia that enjoy tariff concessions;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the steps being taken in this regard along with the results yielded till date;
- (c) whether India has traditionally enjoyed a comparative advantage in the textile sector, including apparels, and these constitute a major chunk of export basket and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether  over  the  past  few  years,  near  stagnation  in  textile  exports,  particularly  in  apparel exports, has been witnessed and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor along with the corrective steps being taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): To increase exports including apparel exports, India is actively negotiating Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)/Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the following countries/regions:

|   Sl. | Countries/Regions                                      | Name of the Agreement                                                 |
|-------|--------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|     1 | UAE                                                    | India-UAE FTA                                                         |
|     2 | Australia                                              | India - Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) |
|     3 | Canada                                                 | India - Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement           |
|     4 | Israel                                                 | India - Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA)                             |
|     5 | United Kingdom                                         | India-UK Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP)                             |
|     6 | Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia   | India-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA)       |
|     7 | European Union                                         | India - EU Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)          |
|     8 | South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia | India - SACU PTA                                                      |

- (c): Textile including apparel exports constitute a significant share in India's total exports. The share of textile and apparel exports was 10.52% of the total exports in 2021.
- (d): Textile and Apparel export growth has been facing adverse impact of Covid pandemic and higher import tariffs in key markets such as European Union and United Kingdom as compared to zero duty access in these countries to competing countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia. Government has taken various supportive steps in this regard. Production Linked Incentive Scheme has been introduced for the sector with an approved outlay of Rs 10,683 Crore; Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (ROSCTL) scheme has been extended and setting up of 7(seven) PM Mega Integrated Textiles Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks has been approved to promote competitiveness of India's textile and apparel exports. In addition, on going FTA negotiations will also provide more favourable market access to products exported from India.

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