The government expects the United States to get more
protectionist with the Democratic Party gaining control
of the US Congress. Seeing no quick conclusion to the
WTO talks, it is pressing ahead with free trade agreements,
reports CNBC-TV18.
Two
years ago, a few months after taking office, prime minister
Manmohan Singh had said that caution was needed on Free
Trade Agreements on the way to Bangkok. Earlier this
year, Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, expressed worries
about the impact of the India-Asean FTA on the farming
community. Now FTAs seems to be acquiring urgency as
the WTO talks have floundered.
Commerce secretary, G K Pillai, says, "With Democrats
taking charge, they are supposed to be more protectionist
than the Republicans, the Doha talks are in a state
of flux."
Though
talks at the WTO level, that includes all countries,
is the best bet, India believes that it cannot shy away
from regional trading agreements to gain access to markets,
as trade''s share of GDP is expected to rise substantially
from under a fifth now.
Under
a WTO agreement, a free trade agreement with developed
countries is to have covered substantially all trade.
India is in negotiations for an FTA with Asean and for
another with EU, so the commerce secretary wants industry
to press for domestic reform as and when these negotiations
are concluded.
Not
just industry, the government itself will have to reinvent
itself to
facilitate trade. The commerce ministry is working on
a plan to put all files on the computer so that it can
dispose off each of them in around two hours, from the
current stately pace of 22 hours.
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