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Adopting the identical template would imply the GCC nations – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – might largely lengthen their market entry to Indian items and companies barring particular gadgets which have cultural and non secular sensitivities of the area. Within the UAE pact, the textual content of which was launched solely on Sunday, the Gulf nation positioned simply 187 tariff traces (out of a complete of seven,851) within the destructive record, a lot of these resembling tobacco, wines and spirits being thought of sin gadgets there.
“Work on the India-GCC FTA has resumed. There’s a chance that the identical structure of the India-UAE CEPA (Complete Financial Partnership Settlement) will likely be adopted right here,” ambassador Sunjay Sudhir stated.
The method of inking a free commerce pact with the GCC was envisaged in 2007 solely to be put in chilly storage after a number of rounds of talks. One other officer linked to the event – Srikar Reddy, joint secretary within the division of commerce – added that UAE’s exclusion record includes gadgets of mere 0.7% of Indian present exports in worth phrases.
“A lot of the gadgets in UAE’s destructive record are for the rationale of their cultural sensitivity,” the officer stated. UAE’s complete imports from India in merchandise items are price about $26 bn a 12 months. As soon as the India-UAE pact is enforced, seemingly from Might 1, about 90% of India’s items in worth phrases in sectors resembling gems and jewelry, textiles and attire, agriculture and fish merchandise, leather-based, footwear and sports activities items, prescribed drugs et al, may have an entry to the UAE market at zero obligation, down from the present 5%, Reddy added.
Then again, India has additionally provided vital concessions on tariff traces which are of export curiosity to the UAE. They embody dates, crude oil, LPG, metals resembling aluminium, copper and nickel in addition to minerals resembling limestone and cement.
Whereas interacting with journalists on Sunday, commerce and business minister Piyush Goyal stated discussions on the India-GCC free commerce pact ought to be over by the following 15-20 days, after which formal negotiations would start.
