New Delhi: India is pursuing review of free trade agreements (FTAs) signed with ASEAN and Japan, according to commerce minister Piyush Goyal.
Goyal on Wednesday informed Parliament that eight rounds of negotiations have been held with South Korea for upgrading the comprehensive FTA with that country.
“India has sought review of its existing trade agreements with both ASEAN and Japan,” he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
He also said that India and the European Union have held eight stock-taking level meetings since the resumption of their negotiations in 2016 on a proposed Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).
In a separate reply, he said that India is engaging bilaterally, plurilaterally and multilaterally to pursue opportunities for furthering its trade ties,
including opportunities for suitable trade agreements, keeping in mind the national interest.
As per the WTO data released in April for 2018, India’s share in global exports for merchandise was 1.7 per cent and in global imports was 2.6 per cent.
For the service sector, its share in global exports was 3.5 per cent and imports were 3.2 per cent in the last year.