Trade policy review report by the secretariat

Source: Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2014 (effective from 17 April 2014), 17 April 2014; DIPP, Press Note No. 8 (2014 Series), 27 August 2014; and WTO (2011), Trade Policy Review: India, Geneva.

Table A2. 2 India's regional trade agreements in force, end-March 2015

Regional trade agreements
Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)^a(goods)
Parties	Bangladesh, China, India, Korea (Rep. of), Lao People's Democratic Republic, and Sri Lanka
Date of signature/entry into force	31 July 1975/17 June 1976
Full implementation	1 November 1976
Duty-free tariff lines	1.7%
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards, balance of payments measures and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 14.4% Share of total exports: 9.5%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	L/4418 (GATT), WT/COMTD/N/22, WT/COMTD/62
GSTP (goods)
Parties (as notified)	Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Rep. of), Iraq, Korea (Rep. of), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, FYR of Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe
Date of signature/entry into force	13 April 1988/19 April 1989
Full implementation	19 April 1989 for 15 signatory countries
Duty-free tariff lines	..
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards including balance of payments measures, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 30.3% Share of total exports: 26.4%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	L/6564 (GATT)
SAPTA (goods)
Parties	Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Date of signature/entry into force	11 April 1993/07 December 1995
Full implementation	7 December 1995
Duty-free tariff lines	Tariff concessions apply to 2,565 HS six-digit tariff lines, with margins of preference of 10%-90% for non-LDC members and 10%-100% for LDC members.
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards including balance of payments safeguards, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.5% Share of total exports: 5.4%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/10
SAFTA (goods and services)
Parties	Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Date of signature/entry into force	6 January 2004/1 January 2006
Full implementation	31 December 2012
Duty-free tariff lines	India has a sensitive list of 865 products imported from non-LDC members and 744 products from LDC members
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards, including balance of payments safeguards, services, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.5% Share of total exports: 5.4%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/26
India-Afghanistan (goods)
Parties	Afghanistan, India
Date of signature/entry into force	6 March 2003/13 May 2003
Full implementation	13 May 2003
Duty free tariff lines	13 out of 38 lines covered by the Agreement are duty free
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards, including balance of payments safeguards, state trading and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.05% Share of total exports: 0.2%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/32
India-Bhutan
Parties	Bhutan, India
Date of signature/entry into force	28.07.2006/29.07.2006
Full implementation	29 July 2006
Duty-free tariff lines	India provides a tariff exemption on all imports from Bhutan
Other provisions	Safeguards and customs related measures, rules of origin
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.03% Share of total exports: 0.1%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/28
India-Nepal (goods)
Parties	India, Nepal
Date of signature/entry into force	27 October 2009/27 October 2009
Transition for full implementation	27 October 2009
Duty-free tariff lines	India exempts imports from Nepal from tariffs (except for alcoholic liquors and beverages, perfumes and cosmetics with non-Nepalese/non-Indian brand names, and cigarettes and tobacco). Imports of vegetable fats, copper products, acrylic yarn and zinc oxide are subject to annual quotas
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.1% Share of total exports: 1.1%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/34
India-Singapore (goods and services)
Parties	India, Singapore
Date of signature/entry into force	29 June 2005/1 August 2005
Full implementation	1 January 2015
Duty-free tariff lines^c	23.6% of the total
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related measures, safeguards, standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, services commitments, investment, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 1.5% Share of total exports: 4.0%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/REG228, S/C/N/393
India-Sri Lanka (goods)
Parties	India, Sri Lanka
Date of signature/entry into force	28 December 1998/15 December 2001
Full implementation	18 March 2003
Duty-free tariff lines	4150 lines at the HS6digit level are duty free. India does not give tariff concessions on 429 lines that are subject to a negative list. In addition a margin of preference of 25% of the MFN rate is provided for textiles imports with zero duty on imports of 3 million pieces per year for imports under HS 61 and 62. Tariff rate quotas on tea provide a 50% margin of preference on an annual quota of 15 million kg. There are also TRQs for dessicated coconut, pepper and Vanaspati.
Other provisions	Rules of origin, safeguards, including balance of payments safeguards, state trading, and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.2% Share of total exports: 1.5%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/16
Chile-India (goods)
Parties	Chile, India
Date of signature/entry into force	8 March 2006/17 August 2007
Full implementation	13 January 2009 for India
Duty-free tariff lines^c	0
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related measures, anti dumping and countervailing measures, safeguards, TBT and SPS measures, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 0.7% Share of total exports: 0.2%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/30, WT/COMTD/RTA/4
MERCOSUR-India (goods)
Parties	Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, India
Date of signature/entry into force	25January 2004/1 June 2009
Full implementation	1 June 2009
Duty-free tariff lines^c	1 line
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related procedures, SPS and TBT measures, state trading enterprises, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 1.2% Share of total exports: 2.0%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/31
ASEAN-India (goods and services)
Parties	Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, India
Date of signature/entry into force	13 August 2009/1 January 2010
Full implementation	31 December 2022
Duty-free tariff lines^c	75% at end of implementation
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related procedures, tariff rate quotas (by Malaysia), safeguards, SPS and TBT measures, services, dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 9.2% Share of total exports: 10.6%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/35
Korea-India (goods and services)
Parties	Korea (Rep. of), India
Date of signature/entry into force	7 August 2009/1 January 2010
Full implementation	1 January 2021
Duty-free tariff lines	On 31 December 2014, 61% of the tariff was duty free. India exempts 1,895 HS eight-digit tariff lines from liberalization
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related measures, anti dumping and countervailing measures, safeguards, SPS and TBT measures, state trading, non-tariff measures, services, investment and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 2.8% Share of total exports: 1.3%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/REG286, WT/COMTD/N/36, S/C/N/558, S/C/N/570
India-Malaysia (goods and services)
Parties	India, Malaysia
Date of signature/entry into force	18 February 2011/1 July 2011
Full implementation	31 December 2019
Duty-free tariff lines^c	75.3% by end of implementation
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related procedures, tariff rate quotas (by Malaysia), SPS and TBT measures, safeguards, including balance of payments safeguards, services, investment and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 2.0% Share of total exports: 1.3%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/COMTD/N/37, S/C/N599, WT/COMTD/RTA/5, WT/REG329
India-Japan (goods and services)
Parties	India, Japan
Date of signature/entry into force	16 February 2011/1 August 2011
Full implementation	1 January 2021
Duty-free tariff lines^c	17.4% as of 31 December 2014 and 86.6% by end of implementation
Other provisions	Rules of origin, customs related procedures, SPS and TBT measures, safeguards, including balance of payments safeguards, services, investment and dispute settlement
India's merchandise trade^b	Share of total imports: 2.1% Share of total exports: 2.2%
Of which preferential
WTO document series	WT/REG300, S/C/N/601

.. Not available.

a Previously known as the Bangkok Agreement; original signatories were Bangladesh, India, Korea (Rep. of), Lao PDR and Sri Lanka. China became a party to the Agreement on 1 January 2002 and the amended APTA Agreement entered into force on 1 September 2006.

b UNSD Comtrade Database. Data for 2013.

c Secretariat calculations based on data provided by the authorities and included in a factual presentation of the RTA.

Source: WTO RTA Database (http://rtais.wto.org) and information provided by the Indian authorities.