FTA cell to be set up in commerce ministry

NEW DELHI: The government is planning to set up a trade agreement cell in the ministry of commerce to look into complaints of misuse of Free Trade Agreements.

“The trade agreement cell will be set up in the ministry of commerce that will look into specific complaints and dispel apprehensions on the Free Trade Agreements that the country has entered into,� minister for commerce and industry Kamal Nath said FTAs on Indian industry.
Dispelling the concerns of the industry on the negative impact of FTAs, he said there would be some misuse of free trade agreements but the government would respond to them.

“There will be some problems posed by the FTAs in the initial stages that will have to be ironed out,� Nath said at the seminar organised by Assocham and the Indo-German Chamber.

The minister said the government was looking at entering into FTAs keeping in mind the strengths of India and by simulating the future based on these strengths and growing number of such agreements around the world.On the concerns of the industry that FTAs would have a negative impact on foreign direct investment inflows as many companies might decide to service India from other destinations, Nath said on the contrary many companies might shift base to India sensing huge market opportunity.

He said the government would ensure that in all such agreements that it enters into, the rules of origin are strictly enforced and products coming into India duty free have 35-40% local content.

Nath said in the times to come, FTA would become a term of the past. “Now there will be economic cooperation agreement that includes investment. This is the course for the future,� he said.