GST key to India's entry to APEC: US study

NEW DELHI: After years of dithering, as India is finally ready to accept that it needs to join APEC, a new study by US think tank Asia Society says its accession could accelerate the reform agenda, attract more FDI and help the country to eventually join either TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) or FTAAP (Free Trade Area of Asia Pacific).

Kevin Rudd, former PM of Australia, who led the report under the aegis of the New York-based Asia Society Policy Institute, told TOI that he was excited to hear finance minister Arun Jaitley recommend APEC as an "important way station for India" in a recent speech, raising hopes that New Delhi may finally shed its hesitation a year after formally asking for it.

However, in the year since, the country has run into headwinds from the US and some other members of APEC, who fear India could kill the organisation by being its normal obstructionist self. "I think India would enjoy active or passive support of 20 out of 21 APEC members. On the question of the US, there is a view in certain parts of Washington that if India was a member of APEC, it might slow down the body. It's a view I don't support, because the voluntary nature of APEC decisions is that if consensus is achieved on a particular reform, members are free to implement it on the time-table of their choosing. APEC's success has been its voluntary nature," he said.

The Asia Society report says India could take four key steps to help address concerns regarding its membership - passage of GST or other landmark land or labour reforms; accelerate the 'ease of doing business' initiative; engage in BIT (bilateral investment treaty) negotiations and launch a diplomatic initiative with other APEC members.

"India could face increasing isolation from global trade, investment and supply chains if it misses the APEC bus," the report says.