Government reviewing FTAs with Korea, ASEAN
The administration has notified Parliament on Friday that it is actively monitoring all free trade agreements it has signed, and that existing FTAs with Korea and ASEAN are being examined in light of stakeholder engagements.
The government is negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with the European Union, the United Kingdom, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and Canada, according to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel in a written response to the Rajya Sabha.
Since the parties to the discussions must concur on the conclusion, she added, these negotiations or their evaluation are a drawn-out process, and the timing for completion of such negotiations cannot be foreseen.
“With its trading partners, India has signed 13 free trade agreements (FTAs) and 6 preferential trade agreements (PTAs).The government is actively watching these FTAs, and the process of revising its current FTAs with Korea and ASEAN is underway, the minister added, based on stakeholder engagements, experience, and evaluations.
In response to a different query, she said that over the previous year (July 2022 to June 2023) there were 54 complaints addressed to or received by the GeM (Government e-marketplace) monitoring section.
“Sellers versus purchasers accounted for the bulk of complaints we got via the mail and email. After review, GeM observations in these circumstances are conveyed to the relevant Chief Vigilance Officer/Head of Department of the Buyer Organization for further review, investigation, and/or action(s) as considered appropriate at their end, the spokeswoman added.
