New Delhi, Dec 26 (KNN) India and the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will start negotiations in February to “modernise” their decade-and-a-half-old free trade agreement (FTA), reported BusinessLine.

The negotiation sets to bring in more balance in the pact currently weighed against New Delhi.

India seeks to narrow the trade deficit, currently standing at USD 43.57 billion, by revamping the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA) by 2025.

But new areas such as labour, environment, SMEs and gender are likely to be kept out, sources have said, reported BusinessLine.

“There will be a complete re-look at the entire FTA with the broad objective of bringing down the trade deficit for India. We want to modernise the FTA as a lot has evolved since it was signed almost 15 years back. New elements such as product specific rules and trade remedies will be brought in to make the FTA more efficient,” the source told BusinessLine. 

The first round of negotiations for reviewing the FTA, officially known as the ASEAN India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITGA), will be on February 18-19 in New Delhi, the source said.

The negotiations will follow a quarterly schedule to wrap up the exercise by 2025.

(KNN Bureau)