Flexibility and equity strengthen Sri Lanka - India FTA

(February 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Minister of Export Development and International Trade, Prof. G L Peiris, commenting on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and India added that it consists of the flexibilities and equity underpinning its provisions, which have been reflected clearly in the implementation of the Agreement.

Minister Peiris, further expounded the economic benefits of the FTA to both the countries at a Special Session on Trade and Trade related issues at the Partnership Summit 2008, held under the patronage of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) of India.

The Session attracted extensive interest among Indian investors and corporates. Among the companies attended were Max India Ltd. Bharti Enterprises, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, IDS, Infotech Ltd., Hero Corporate Services Ltd, Maruti Suzuki India and Hi Tech Gears among others.

The Partnership Summit 2008, the flagship international event of the Confederation of Indian Industry, was held under the theme “Emerging Consensus: Inclusive and Sustainable Developmen”, at the Hotel Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon, India.

Meanwhile, the Government of India has removed import duty on wheat flour to augment supplies, but the move will have no immediate impact on the domestic market since the prices are far lower than that of the global market. The wheat prices are currently in the vicinity of US$ 305 per tonne in India, compared with around US$ 470 per tonne in the international market.

The Government has removed the import duty on more than 4,800 items from the four neighbouring Least Developed Countries (LDCs) i.e. Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. In addition, the import duty of India has been reduced on several items from Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

This new Exim Policy of India has reduced customs duty on a variety of items such as meat, fish, milk, dairy products and dry fruits from Pakistan and Sri Lanka as an initiative to boost trade with the South Asian region. The latest round of tariff changes is aimed at increasing the tariff concessions already extended to those countries. The new rates have come into effect from January 1, 2008.

All pharmaceutical products and drugs can now be imported to India at 10% duty from the LDCs as against 12.5% earlier. These tariff on drugs has not been reduced with regard to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Further, the customs duty on fertilizer, lime and cement items has been reduced to 10% for the LDCs but would remain at 12.5% for Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Dairy products, excluding milk powder and butter oil, could also be imported from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives at zero duty.