India, SACU Sign Terms of Reference for Preferential Trade Agreement Negotiations

New Delhi, Aug 13 (KNN) India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) have signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) for negotiations towards a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), establishing the framework for formal negotiations to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties.

The ToR was signed at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada and senior officials from India and SACU.

Goyal called for a balanced and equitable agreement that would expand market opportunities for both sides. He said India could support the SACU region through affordable medicines, IT talent development and integration into global supply chains.

He said the proposed PTA would provide preferential market access to an existing commercial relationship covering sectors such as engineering goods and machinery, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agriculture and agri-processing. 

Goyal also called for the negotiations to proceed with urgency and lead to an early conclusion of the agreement.

Namibia's Executive Director in the Ministry of International Relations and Trade, Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, described the ToR as a milestone that would provide structure, transparency and predictability to the negotiations. 

She stressed the need for an outcome that considers differences in levels of development and the interests of SACU's least developed and small and vulnerable economies.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the India-SACU PTA would cover eight chapters, including trade in goods and market access, rules of origin and origin procedures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, dispute settlement, and legal and horizontal provisions.

The signing of the ToR establishes the framework for negotiations and reflects the shared intention of India and SACU to develop a mutually beneficial and development-oriented trade agreement.

(KNN Bureau)