India-Asean FTA talks: Goyal calls for addressing local industry's concerns

India on Friday called for addressing the concerns of its domestic industries affected by the existing free trade agreement (FTA) with the 10-nation bloc ASEAN as the two regions negotiate a review of the pact. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has also emphasized the need to rectify the inequitable tariff liberalization under the agreement. Goyal said this during the stock-taking exercise of the progress of review talks for the India-ASEAN free trade agreement in goods (AITIGA) in Laos. All the ministers took note of the progress in negotiations for the review of the agreement. "Minister Goyal in his intervention stressed the need for addressing injury to industries from the existing FTA and the inequitable tariff liberalisation during the review. He also cited India's ongoing efforts of integrating with other economies through FTAs and highlighted the urgency in upgrading AITIGA which otherwise may lead to diversion of bilateral trade to other regions, the commerce ...