Implications of India-Asean Fta on India’s fisheries sector

India and ASEAN signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in trade in goods which came to effect from 1st January 2010. There were apprehensions on the likely impact of this RTA on some sensitive sectors of India such as agriculture, fisheries and plantation crop as large number of people depend on these sectors for their livelihood. India is a large consumer of marine products and export also export part of the catch to international markets (1.7 percent in total world export in 2007). Some of the ASEAN partners of India namely Thailand (5.82%), Vietnam (3.86) and Indonesia (2.14%) have larger presence in international fisheries trade and there is a possibility that they can export these products in to India in the post FTA period. In this context the paper looked in to the various provisions of India ASEAN FTA on fisheries sector and calculated trade complementarity and similarity using different trade indices. The paper found that India has taken adequate precaution to protect its marine sector from large scale dumping. The apprehension that India-ASEAN FTA will lead to substantial import of marine products in to India is unfounded

Trade Compatibility Between India And Asean Countries

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed at product group, HS-2 and HS-4 levels to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation.Regional Trade Agreement, Revealed Comparative Advantage, India, ASEAN

WHY DO COUNTRIES FORM REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS – INSIGHTS FROM THE LITERATURE

The world trading system witnessed rapid rise in the formation ofRegional Trade Agreements (RTAs)particularly in the post WTO period. Despite large number of studies conducted on this area by the trade economists, there are divergent views on the outcome of RTAs on world trade as well as there is no unanimity on the desirable mechanism of trade liberalization. The paper looks in to various theoretical arguments and empirical explanations that supports or opposes RTAs. Careful review of the studies identified the underlying conditions that are required for the successful functioning of the RTAs.Even though regionalism is discriminatory in nature, it enjoys as a preferred method of trade liberalisation among nations as it provides immediate results to the trade policy initiatives. The paper concludes that for the successful functioning of the RTAs it should be carefully calibrated by identifying trade creating partners and accommodating the interests of the local stakeholders. Also successful regional cooperation agreements should stimulate multilateral initiatives

Awareness, Perceived Difficulties and Economic Impact of Laadli Laxmi Scheme (LLS) in Goa.

Government of Goa introduced Laadli Laxmi Scheme in the State in 2012 to improve the condition of girl child in terms of their socio-economic status and quality of life. The paper is an attempt to understand the level of awareness about the Laadli Laxmi Scheme amongst the targeted people and the difficulties faced by the beneficiaries in availing the scheme. A survey was carried out to understand the economic impact of Ladle Laxmi Scheme on the households of the beneficiaries so as to make suggestions for the improvement of the scheme in future. The study found that majority of the beneficiaries are happy with the scheme and it can be made much more effective with some improvements in the implementation

Trade Impact of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA): An Augmented Gravity Model Analysis.

India signed a FTA with ASEAN in the year 2009 came into effect on 1 January 2010. The paper looks in to the trade impact of India ASEAN Free Trade Agreement using an augmented Gravity model using a panel data framework. The study used a balanced panel data set of 11050 bilateral trade for 650 country pair for 17 years. Different panel data estimation techniques such as Pooled OLS method (POLS), Maximum likelihood Estimation Method (MLE), Fixed Effect with Vector Disintegration (FEVD), Between Effect (BE) and Random Effect Method (RE) are applied to the dataset to arrive at appropriate modeling method. Fixed Effect with Vector Decomposition (FEVD) was found suitable for explaining the trade flow. The results show the possibility of greater trade between India and ASEAN countries through RTA. Since the initial tariff levels are higher in India compared to ASEAN, ASEAN is likely to gain more in the short term. For India to exploit the trade potential with ASEAN the FTA should be operationalized in the services and investment domain

Trade Compatibility Between India And Asean Countries

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed at product group, HS-2 and HS-4 levels to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation

Trade Complementarity and Similarity Between India and Asean Countries in the context of the RTA

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Regionalism versus Multilateralism debate is not resolved decisively as there are divergent views on the methodology of trade liberalization. The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. India after its initial reluctance, exploring the path of regionalism to improve trade performance and to acquire leadership role on regional issues. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed for 16 product group to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation. While India got comparative advantage in Food grains, Minerals, Chemicals, Jems and Jewellery and manufactured products, ASEAN countries are in an advantageous position in Electrical goods, electronic products, vegetable oils, rubber products and agricultural products

Trade Compatibility Between India And Asean Countries

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed at product group, HS-2 and HS-4 levels to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation

India in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – Need for Caution.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a large trade negotiation among 16 countries of Asia Pacific which aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights among these nations. The 16 RCEP countries include China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and the 10-member ASEAN which represent more than 3.5 billion people and about 40 percent of global GDP. India already implemented a free trade agreement with ASEAN, Japan and South Korea and negotiating similar pacts with Australia and New Zealand. There are apprehensions that RCEP agreement will lead to large-scale import of manufactured goods from developed members of RCEP particularly China which enjoys a trade surplus of more than 50 billion US$ with India. Also, large coverage of items in the tariff reduction programme will lead to an influx of cheaper commodities into India affecting the manufacturing sector. Easy access to burgeoning Indian consumer market may affect a large number of informal players affecting their livelihoods. India’s gain primarily comes from the services sector which needs greater access to the members’ markets. Also, the previous experiences of India’s RTAs did not yield desirable results as India’s import increased rapidly compared to exports. In this context, the paper argues for India’s caution and push for a comprehensive agreement by including services sector where India’s advantage lies

Trade Complementarity and Similarity Between India and Asean Countries in the context of the RTA

The post WTO world trading system is witnessing proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Regionalism versus Multilateralism debate is not resolved decisively as there are divergent views on the methodology of trade liberalization. The slow pace of multilateral negotiations and lack of consensus among members on major trade issues is undermining the role of WTO and hastening the regionalism process. India after its initial reluctance, exploring the path of regionalism to improve trade performance and to acquire leadership role on regional issues. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which will come in to force from 1st January 2010. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Trade indices such as Trade Intensity Index (TII) and Revealed Comparative Index (RCA) are constructed for 16 product group to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary sectors and products available between India and ASEAN for greater cooperation. While India got comparative advantage in Food grains, Minerals, Chemicals, Jems and Jewellery and manufactured products, ASEAN countries are in an advantageous position in Electrical goods, electronic products, vegetable oils, rubber products and agricultural products