India has implemented these agreements with several countries, including Asean, Japan, Korea and Singapore.
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“India has a strong services sector, which contributes over 55 per cent to our Gross Domestic Product”, she said, adding that India was unable to leverage its strength in services to get the necessary benefits in the TFA in goods signed with the Asean group, for instance. “We are still not ready to have them and face a competition where there would not be a level playing field”, he said. Speaking at the India Summit 2016, Ms Sitharaman pointed out, “The government is removing obstacles to make economy more vibrant and provide transparent and accountable governance”.
The domestic steel industry has expressed concern over rising imports from Japan and Korea and demanded the removal of this commodity from the purview of the FTAs. It is also negotiating similar agreements with the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
To make India an investor friendly hub for global investors, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the government has taken various steps to remove obstacles to make economy more vibrant and transparent.
On FTA with the United Kingdom in the post-Brexit era, the minister said that India should eventually have FTA with that country. The rationale was the lack of adequate infrastructure and last-mile connectivity to ensure the financial inclusion of traders and farmers, she said.
India plans to share a paper on trade facilitation agreement in services with the World Trade Organisation, the minister said. She made it clear that FTA negotiations formally can happen only after the UK’s exit from the EU. “There is no larger multi-lateral institutional framework dealing with issues related to services”, she said. “My answer is, “not yet”, Sitharaman said.
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Criticising the government is one thing, but nobody should undermines the State and the Constitution, she said.
