With India’s trade pacts set to provide preferential access to its goods and services in countries with a combined GDP of USD 85 trillion in the coming years, the industry should look beyond the huge domestic market and step out of its comfort zone to expand globally, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
He said that before 2014, India had implemented free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries having an aggregate GDP of USD 10 trillion.
In the last four and a half years, the government has entered into nine trade pacts which covered 38 developed countries, having a GDP of USD 60 trillion.
India is now negotiating seven to eight more agreements, which will add another USD 15 trillion, where India will get preferential access for its goods and services, the commerce and industry minister said at the 4th Edition Festival of Ideas here.
Together, all these trade agreements cover markets accounting for about 76 per cent of global GDP, or “USD 85 trillion out of the world’s total GDP of USD 115 trillion,” the minister said.
India is negotiating similar agreements with Canada, Israel, Mexico, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) group, the South African Customs Union (SACU) and Chile.
In such a big market, he said, “We will have preferential access through our various FTAs, bilateral trade agreements or preferential trade agreements…now is the time; we will start building global brands. Now is our time in the sun. We have to go global; we have to get out of the cosy comfort of the huge domestic market which consumes everything we produce and instead make world-class quality, package it well, (with) high-quality design.” Before 2014, India has implemented trade pacts with countries and regions, including Singapore, Japan, Korea and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc. The 10 ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the last about five years, trade deals have come into force with Australia, the UAE, Mauritius, Oman, the UK, the EFTA bloc (four members – Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein), and New Zealand.
A comprehensive pact with the 27-nation European Union bloc will be signed in December, and it is expected to come into effect next year.
