India seeking review of certain provisions of free trade agreement with UAE
free trade agreement with the UAE, which came into force on May 1, 2022, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday. He said that India is in discussions with the UAE and there are various issues which can be discussed in the review.
The UAE is the third largest trading partner of India with USD 83.65 billion bilateral trade in 2023-24. The agreement is officially dubbed as Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
«As regards CEPA, there are two things — one is the value addition norms and the second is reduction (of customs duties). So we are in discussion with them and there are various issues which are discussed under CEPA review. So, I think we are seeking a review with them and once we get it, then we will look at all the issues holistically,» he told reporters here.
He was replying to a question on increasing silver imports and cutting import duty on precious metals in the Budget and tariff arbitrage to the UAE.
«When you ( a country) give a concessional rate (of duty), there is a condition of meeting rules of origin. So when we do review, we look at all the aspects of it...whether the rules of origin are met or not and what is the future course of action that we will do,» Barthwal said.
The remarks assume significance as experts have raised serious concerns over the spurt in imports of precious metals from the UAE under the trade agreement.
Seeking an urgent review of the pact, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has stated that the India-UAE CEPA allows unlimited
