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The '''ASEAN–India Free Trade Area''' ('''AIFTA''') is a [[free trade area]] among the ten member states of the [[ASEAN|Association of Southeast Asian Nations]] (ASEAN) and [[India]]. The initial framework agreement was signed on 8 October 2003 in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]].<ref name="Framework Agreement">{{cite news | title = Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Between the Republic of India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations | url = http://asean.org/framework-agreement-on-comprehensive-economic-cooperation-between-the-republic-of-india-and-the-association-of-southeast-asian-nations-bali/ | publisher = [[ASEAN]] | date = 8 October 2003 | access-date = 7 July 2016}}</ref> and the final agreement was on 13 August 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.2point6billion.com/news/2009/08/14/india-asean-sign-free-trade-agreement-1795.html|title=India, ASEAN Sign Free Trade Agreement|date=14 August 2009|access-date=13 August 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100927024159/http://www.2point6billion.com/news/2009/08/14/india-asean-sign-free-trade-agreement-1795.html| archive-date= 27 September 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> The free trade area came into effect on 1 January 2010.<ref>{{cite news | last = Vijian | first = P. | title = Not All Easy As India-Asean FTA Comes Into Effect On Jan 1 | url = http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/news_lite.php?id=465700 | publisher = [[Bernama]] | date = 2 January 2010 | access-date = 4 January 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604045325/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/news_lite.php?id=465700 | archive-date = 4 June 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Limsamarnphun | first = Nophakhun | title = World's largest trading zone creates a new era for industries, consumers | url = http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/01/05/business/business_30119699.php | work = [[The Nation (Thailand)|The Nation]] | access-date = 4 January 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100110021007/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/01/05/business/business_30119699.php| archive-date= 10 January 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> India hosted the latest ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi on 26 January 2018. In the financial year 2017–18, Indo-ASEAN bilateral trade grew by almost 14% to reach US$81.3 billion. India's imports from ASEAN were valued at US$47.13 billion while its exports to ASEAN stood at US$34.2 billion.<ref>http://commerce.gov.in/InnerContent.aspx?Id=74</ref>

== Background ==
The ASEAN–India Free Area emerged from a mutual interest of both parties to expand their economic ties in the Asia-Pacific region. India's [[Look East policy (India)|Look East policy]] was reciprocated by similar interests of many ASEAN countries to expand their interactions westward.<ref name=Bengal>{{cite journal|last=Baru|first=Sanjaya|title=India and ASEAN: The Emerging Economic Relationship Towards a Bay of Bengal Community|journal=ICRIER|date=February 2001
}}</ref>

After India became a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, India saw its trade with ASEAN increase relative to its trade with the rest of the world. Between 1993 and 2003, ASEAN-India bilateral trade grew at an annual rate of 11.2%, from US$2.9 billion in 1993 to US$12.1 billion in 2003.<ref name=Overview>{{cite web|title=ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations |url=http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-india-dialogue-relations |access-date=8 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320110912/http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-india-dialogue-relations |archive-date=20 March 2013 }}</ref> Much of India's trade with ASEAN is directed towards [[Singapore]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Thailand]], with whom India holds strong economic relations.<ref name=Bengal />

In 2008, the total volume of ASEAN-India trade was US$47.5 billion. ASEAN's export to India was US$30.1 billion – a growth of 21.1 per cent in comparison with that of 2007. ASEAN's imports from India were US$17.4 billion – a growth of 40.2 per cent in comparison to that of 2006. As for [[foreign direct investment]] (FDI), the inflow from India to ASEAN Member States was US$476.8 million in 2008, accounting for 0.8 per cent of total FDI in the region. Total Indian FDI into ASEAN from 2000 to 2008 was US$1.3 billion. The ASEAN-Dialogue Partners trade and investment statistic data can be accessed through http://www.asean.org/22122.htm.

Acknowledging this trend and recognising the economic potential of closer linkages, both sides recognised the opportunities for deepening trade and investment ties, and agreed to negotiate a framework agreement to pave the way for the establishment of an ASEAN–India Free Trade Area (FTA).<ref name=Overview />

== History ==

At the [[2003 ASEAN-India Summit|Second ASEAN-India Summit in 2003]], the [[ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation]] was signed by the Leaders of ASEAN and India. The Framework Agreement laid a sound basis for the eventual establishment of an [[ASEAN-India Regional Trade and Investment Area]] (RTIA), which includes FTA in goods, services, and investment.

ASEAN and India signed the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods (TIG) Agreement in [[Bangkok]] on 13 August 2009, after six years of negotiations. The ASEAN-India TIG Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2010. The 7th ASEAN-India Summit in [[Cha-am Hua Hin]], [[Thailand]] on 24 October 2009 agreed to revise the bilateral trade target to US$70 billion to be achieved in the next two years, noting that the initial target of US$50 billion set in 2007 may soon be surpassed.

ASEAN-India trade grew at over 22 percent annually during the 2005-2011 period. Trade between India and ASEAN in 1964-2002 increased by more than 37 percent to $79 billion, which was more than the target of $70 billion set in 2009.<ref name="Keck">{{cite news | last = Keck | first = Zachary | title = India, ASEAN Celebrate 20th Anniversary With Two FTAs | url = https://thediplomat.com/indian-decade/2012/12/21/india-asean-celebrate-20th-anniversary-with-two-ftas/ | work = [[The Diplomat]] | date = 21 December 2012 | access-date = 21 December 2012}}</ref>

At the [[2010 ASEAN-India Summit|10th ASEAN-India Summit]] in [[New Delhi]] on 20 December 2012, India and ASEAN concluded negotiations for FTAs in services and investments. The two sides expect bilateral trade to increase to $100 billion by 2015, and $200 billion within a decade.<ref name="Keck"/>

ASEAN and India are also working on enhancing private sector engagement. Details on the re-activation of the [[ASEAN-India Business Council]] (AIBC), the holding of the [[ASEAN-India Business Summit]] (AIBS) and an [[ASEAN-India Business Fair]] (AIBF), are being worked out by officials. On 27 April 2010, India informed the [[ASEAN Secretariat]] that the [[Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry]] (FICCI) would be organising the [[ASEAN Trade and Industrial Exhibition]] at the [[Pragati Maidan]] in New Delhi on 8–11 January 2011, at the sidelines of the AIBF.

The Fourteenth ASEAN Transport Ministers (ATM) Meeting on 6 November 2008 in [[Makati]], [[Metro Manila]], [[Philippines]] adopted the [[ASEAN-India Aviation Cooperation Framework]], which will lay the foundation for closer aviation co-operation between ASEAN and India. The [[ASEAN-India Air Transport Agreement]] (AI-ATA) is being negotiated with the implementation timeline of 2011.

In tourism, the number of visitor arrivals from ASEAN to India in 2006 was 277,000, while the number of visitor arrivals from India to ASEAN in 2008 was 1.985 million. At the [[2007 ASEAN-India Summit|Sixth ASEAN-India Summit]] held on 21 November 2007 in [[Singapore]], India proposed to set a target of 1 million tourist arrivals from ASEAN to India by 2010. The 2nd Meeting of ASEAN and India Tourism Ministers (ATM+India) held on 25 January 2010 in [[Bandar Seri Begawan]] positively responded to India's proposal to develop an [[ASEAN-India Tourism Cooperation Agreement]] and requested the [[ASEAN-India Tourism Working Group]] to further discuss and prepare the draft agreement. The Ministers also supported the establishment of the [[ASEAN Promotional Chapter for Tourism]] in Mumbai as an important collaborative platform for ASEAN National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) to market Southeast Asia to the Indian consumers and, at the same time, create mutual awareness between ASEAN Member States and India.

==Signatories==
{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" style="font-size:85%;"
|-
! Flag !! Country !! Capital !! Area (km2) !! Population (!! [[Gross domestic product|GDP (nominal)]] (bln USD, [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]) !! [[List of circulating currencies|Currency]] !! [[Official languages]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Brunei|size=30px}} || '''[[Brunei Darussalam]]''' || [[Bandar Seri Begawan]] ||align=right| 5,765 ||align=right| 423,196||align=right| 9.07 ||align=center| [[Brunei dollar|dollar]] ||align=center| [[Malay language|Malay]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Myanmar|size=30px}} || '''[[Myanmar]]''' ||[[Naypyidaw]]|| align="right" | 676,578 ||align=right| 53,582,855 ||align=right| 72.36 ||align=center| [[Myanma kyat|kyat]] ||align=center| [[Burmese language|Burmese]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Cambodia|size=30px}} || '''[[Cambodia]]''' || [[Phnom Penh]] ||align=right| 181,035 ||align=right| 15,762,370||align=right| 20.95 ||align=center| [[Cambodian riel|riel]] ||align=center| [[Khmer language|Khmer]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Indonesia|size=30px}} || '''[[Indonesia]]''' || [[Jakarta]] ||align=right| 1,904,569 ||align=right| 261,115,456||align=right| 1074||align=center| [[Indonesian rupiah|rupiah]] ||align=center| [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Laos|size=30px}} || '''[[Laos]]''' || [[Vientiane]] ||align=right| 236,800 ||align=right| 6,758,353 ||align=right| 18.337 ||align=center| [[Lao kip|kip]] ||align=center| [[Lao language|Lao]]
|-''
| {{flagicon|Malaysia|size=30px}} || '''[[Malaysia]]''' || [[Kuala Lumpur]] ||align=right| 329,847 ||align=right|31,976,000 ||align=right| 340 ||align=center| [[Malaysian ringgit|ringgit]] ||align=center| [[Malay language|Malay]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Philippines|size=30px}} || '''[[Philippines]]''' || [[Manila]] ||align=right| 300,000 ||align=right| 100,981,437 (2015) ||align=right| 310.31 ||align=center| [[Philippine peso|peso]] ||align=center| [[Filipino language|Filipino]], [[English language|English]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Singapore|size=30px}} || '''[[Singapore]]''' || [[Singapore]] ||align=right| 707.1 ||align=right| 5,612,300 (2017) ||align=right| 294.56 ||align=center| [[Singapore dollar|dollar]] ||align=center| [[Malay language|Malay]], [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin (Huayu)]], [[English language|English]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Thailand|size=30px}} || '''[[Thailand]]''' || [[Bangkok]] ||align=right| 513,115 ||align=right| 68,863,514 (2016) ||align=right| 514.7 ||align=center| [[Thai baht|baht]] ||align=center| [[Thai language|Thai]]
|-
| {{flagicon|Vietnam|size=30px}} || '''[[Vietnam]]''' || [[Hanoi]] ||align=right| 331,690 ||align=right| 94,569,072 ||align=right| 240.779 ||align=center| [[Vietnamese đồng|đồng]] ||align=center| [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]
|-
| {{flagicon|India|size=30px}} || '''[[India]]''' || [[New Delhi]] ||align=right| 3,287,263 ||align=right| 1,324,171,354 (2011) ||align=right| 2,848||align=center| [[Indian rupee|rupee]] ||align=center| [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[English language|English]]
|}

== Tariffs ==
The signing of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement paves the way for the creation of one of the world's largest FTAs – a market of almost 1.8 billion people with a combined GDP of US$2.8 trillion. The ASEAN-India FTA will see tariff liberalisation of over 90 percent of products traded between the two dynamic regions, including the so-called “special products,” such as palm oil (crude and refined), coffee, black tea and pepper. Tariffs on over 4,000 product lines will be eliminated by 2016, at the earliest.

== Criticism ==
While there are many benefits to the ASEAN-India FTA, there is concern in India that the agreement will have several negative impacts on the economy. As previously stated, the two regions aim to reduce their tariffs on a majority of their traded goods. This will allow them to increase the market access of their products. It is criticised, however, that India will not experience as great an increase in market access to ASEAN countries as ASEAN will in India.<ref name=cross-country>{{cite journal|last=Sikdar|first=Chandrima|author2=Biswajit Nag|title=Impact of India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: A cross-country analysis using applied general equilibrium modelling|journal=RTNeT|date=November 2011}}</ref>
The economies of the ASEAN countries are largely export-driven, maintaining high export-to-GDP ratios (in 2007, Malaysia had a ratio of over 100%<ref name="exportRatio">{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?order=wbapi_data_value_2008+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=desc&page=1|title=Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)|publisher=World Bank|access-date=30 January 2014}}</ref>).<ref name=assessment /> Considering this, as well as the global financial crisis and India's expansive domestic market, the ASEAN countries will look eagerly towards India as a home for its exports.<ref name=assessment>{{cite journal|last=Pal|first=Parthapratim|author2=Mitali Dasgupta|title=The ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement: An Assessment|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=September 2009|volume=44|issue=38|pages=11–15}}</ref>

Since the early 2000s, India has had an increasing trade deficit with ASEAN, with imports exceeding exports by more than US$6 billion in 2007–2008.<ref name=assessment /> It is feared that a gradual liberalisation of tariffs and a rise in imported goods into India will threaten several sectors of the economy, specifically the plantation sector, some manufacturing industries, and the marine products industry.<ref name=assessment /> As a dominant exporter of light manufacturing products, ASEAN has competitive tariff rates that make it difficult for India to gain access to the industry market in ASEAN countries.<ref name=Sense>{{cite journal|last=Pal|first=Parthapratim|author2=Mitali Dasgupta|title=Does a Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN make sense?|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|date=November 2008|volume=43|issue=46|pages=8–12}}</ref>

Before the agreement was signed, the [[Chief Minister of Kerala]], [[V.S. Achuthanandan]], led a delegation to the [[Prime Minister of India|Indian Prime Minister]] protesting against the FTA. The state of [[Kerala]] is an important exporter in the national export of plantation products. It fears that cheap imports of rubber, coffee, and fish would lower domestic production, adversely affecting farmers and ultimately its economy.<ref name=Kerala>{{cite news|last=Devraj|first=Ranjit|title=Kerala fights clock in ASEAN free-trade deal|url=http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KH11Df01.html|access-date=11 February 2013|newspaper=Asia Times|date=11 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230154/http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KH11Df01.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=unfit}}</ref> Kerala has already experienced a flooding of its market with inexpensive imports under the [[South Asia Free Trade Agreement]] of 2006. Cheap coconuts from [[Sri Lanka]] and palm oil from Malaysia has since hindered Kerala's coconut cultivation.<ref name=Kerala />

To alleviate the losses that arise from the initial stages of trade, the Government of India must be able to effectively redistribute some of the wealth to those industries who suffer from the increased competition with ASEAN markets.<ref name=cross-country /> This way, total welfare gains in India would increase and India would ultimately benefit from trade with ASEAN.

== See also ==
* [[ASEAN–India relations]]
* [[ASEAN–India Commemorative Summit]]
* [[ASEAN-India Car Rally 2012]]
* [[ASEAN Free Trade Area]]
* [[ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand Free Trade Area]] (AANZFTA)
* [[ASEAN–China Free Trade Area]] (ACFTA)
* [[ASEAN–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership]] (AJCEP)
* [[ASEAN–Korea Free Trade Area]] (AKFTA)
* [[INS Sudarshini]]
* [[Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia]]
* [[List of free trade agreements]]
* [[Rules of Origin]]
* [[Market access]]
* [[Free-trade area]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.aseansec.org/22563.htm Documents on the ASEAN–India Free Trade Area]

{{Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:ASEAN-India Free Trade Area}}
[[Category:Trade blocs]]
[[Category:ASEAN]]
[[Category:Free trade agreements of India]]
[[Category:2010 introductions]]
[[Category:2010 in economics]]
[[Category:Free-trade areas]]

ASEAN India Free Trade Area - Revision history

>JJMC89 bot III at 07:20, 23 May 2021