ASEAN Economic Ministers-India consultation encourages review of ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement
The 20th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ meeting was held on 21 August 2023 in Semarang, Indonesia and endorsed the roadmap for India-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) review, Term of Reference as well as Work Plan of the AITIGA Review Negotiations for AITIGA Joint Committee. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Trade of Indonesia along with Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce of the Government of India.
2. The AITIGA review is expected to make AITIGA more user friendly, simple, and trade facilitative for businesses as well as support for sustainable and inclusive growth. It is also expected to enhance and diversify trade while bringing symmetry in the bilateral trade between India and ASEAN countries. The Ministers agreed to have a quarterly schedule of negotiations by the Joint Committee in order to conclude the review in 2025.
3. The AITIGA Joint Committee meeting preceded the ministerial meeting and deliberated on the roadmap for AITIGA review, Terms of Reference as well as Work Plan of the AITIGA Review Negotiations for endorsement by the Economic Ministers. In September 2022, the 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting held in Cambodia had endorsed the Scope of Review of AITIGA and activated the AITIGA Joint Committee to undertake expeditious AITIGA review.
4. India ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was signed on 13 August 2009. India and ASEAN registered a two-way trade of USD 131.5 billion in 2022-23 accounting for 11.3% of India’s global trade in 2022-23. The trade between Vietnam and India increased to USD 15 billion in 2022 as per Vietnamese data registering a growth of 13.92% over the previous year. India’s exports to Vietnam amounted to USD 7.08 billion while exports by Vietnam to India stood at USD 7.96 billion. An upgraded AITIGA in the near future is expected to increase trade between India and ASEAN, particularly Vietnam.
5. During the meeting, the Ministers also reviewed trade and investment relations between India and ASEAN and put priority on cooperation in resilient supply chains, food security, energy security, health and financial stability particularly in the post-pandemic era.
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