Dear Sir/Madam
You are kindly aware that India and ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) which consists of 10 countries, namely- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam signed ASEAN- India Trade in Goods agreement (AITIGA) in 2009.
The preliminary negotiations for the first review of this agreement after it came into existence in 2010-11 is going to start shortly in New Delhi.
The two-fold objective of the review of the AITIGA are: -
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Analysing the performance of the agreement since its implementation, identifying the gaps and aligning the FTA Provisions with contemporary trade practices for further ease of business.
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Expanding the tariff liberalisation coverage and addressing the asymmetry in the tariff elimination offers of the ASEAN nations and India.
Under the Agreement, ASEAN and India have committed to progressively eliminating duties on close to 75% of goods and to reduce tariffs on around 15% of goods. Remaining 10% of tariff lines are excluded from any concessions. Since, ASEAN countries tabled ten separate offers to India, the tariff elimination commitment of individual ASEAN countries varies from 100% to 50% (though the average tariff elimination offered by ASEAN in overall matches with India’s offer).
The prime objective of the India during the review is to address the imbalance in the offers of the ASEAN nations and seek improved tariff concessions from the countries who have emerged as potential export destinations during the last decade. For eg. Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines are some of the fastest growing countries in the ASEAN region with robust trade and investment eco-system. They are also strong players in the regional value chains in the Indo-Pacific region.
At present, under the AITIGA, 43% of the tariff lines of Indonesia, 22% of tariff lines of Malaysia, 25% of tariff lines of Philippines and Thailand and 30% of tariff lines of Vietnam are either under tariff reduction or are excluded from concessions. It is important to seek ambitious tariff concession coverage from these countries during the review.
In view of the above, this Department has prepared ASEAN country wise list of tariff lines under the original tariff schedule of ASEAN countries in AITIGA, on which either concessions offered are minimal or are excluded from concessions. The ASEAN country wise list of such tariff lines pertaining to Chemicals & Petrochemicals is attached for reference.
It is kindly requested to examine the export potential of the products listed in the Annex considering India’s domestic production, export potential and the import potential of the respective ASEAN countries. Kindly note that at this juncture, we are at preliminary stage of discussion with ASEAN. Your valuable suggestions are important to draw up a judicious wish list well in advance, reflecting our sectoral interest, based on India’s potential to export.
Accordingly, it is requested to provide your inputs on the category of concession, India may seek from each ASEAN country, against each of the HS codes given in the attached list (Annex) with the justification to rd.del@chemexcil.in with a copy to ad.del@chemexcil.in latest by 23rd January, 2024.
Looking forward to your kind inputs.
Yours faithfully,
Raghuveer Kini
Director General
CHEMEXCIL
Encl : DCPC-restricted tariff lines under AITIGA