Inter-National Doctrine of Integrated Alliances

RECENT TRADE DEALS OF INDIA WITH OTHER COUNTRIES indicating RisingIndia

India’s trade deals in the recent past have increased to drive the nation towards a $5 trillion economy and contribute towards Rising India. A trade agreement brings enormous opportunities for corporations and consequently on growth of the economy to make it visible and interacting with a much bigger foreign audience.

WHAT IS A TRADE AGREEMENT?

The Trade Agreement is a contractual agreement between 2 states (Bilateral) or it may concern multiple states (multilateral). There are also international trades that are regulated by several unilateral barriers such as Tariffs and Non-tariff barriers. Trade agreements are a way to reduce these barriers and ensure that there is a win-win situation for the parties involved in it.
Some common features that are involved and had to keep an eye on are:
Reciprocity;
Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) Clause;
National treatment of non-tariff barriers.


INDIA-AUSTRALIA – ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement) ($50* Billion)
Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food
and Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India
Mr. Dan Tehan, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Government of Australia

“India has faced border tensions (with China). Australia has faced economic coercion,
Those issues are not going to disappear overnight.”
India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (IndAus ECTA) signed on April 2 on Gudi Padwa which is an auspicious festival as per Hindu calendar being New Year as per Vikram Samvat 2079 and beginning of Chetra Navratri. Annual bilateral trade is expected to almost double from USD 27.5 billion in 2021 to about USD 45 billion or USD 50 billion in the next five years. The deal eliminates tariffs on over 85 pc of Australian exports to India, rising to 91 pc in a decade while 96 pc of Indian goods entering Australia will become duty-free.There will be Zero-duty import for the Australian coal as it is a very important raw material for the production of Steel. So, India imports key raw materials and exports finished goods. (HindustanTimes)

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED:
Improve the Trade business of India with an International market. Indian students are going to get work visas in Australia. ndia also has achieved the highest ever export in its history this year of USD 418 Billion. India is now confident and strong to compete with the world market as they have strong collaborations which creates a much better business relationship. (Business-standard, 2022)
“We have finally made a free trade agreement with a developed nation after ten years. It's also an important milestone in our journey because now Indian industry is prepared to compete with the rest of the world from a position of strength, and is now much more self-confident than ever before," said Goyal. (a direct excerpt from Union Commerce and Industry Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal)

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
India – Australia ECTA Pact is going to bring 1 million job opportunities in the next 4-5 years. (Business-standard, April 2022). The agreement with a developed country is set to open up different avenues in the International Market. RisingIndia ThinkTank believes this to be great news for the budding entrepreneurs to develop and groom people with ideations and business strategies to meet their ambitions globally.

INDIA United Arab Emirates (UAE) CEPA
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ($ 100* Billion)

Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Executive Council.

On February 18, 2022, India and UAE inked CEPA. CEPA is India’s first bilateral trade agreement in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA Region). This agreement will ease similar agreements with the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. The main aim of this agreement is to boost Bilateral relations and economic cooperation between the 2 states. The agreement is set to increase non-oil merchandise and also encourage bilateral investments in labor-intensive industries like textile, Gems and Jewelry, leather goods, footwear, and Food. (EconomicTimes, 2022)

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED
One of the main reasons is to increase the non-oil merchandise trade to USD 100 Billion in the next 5 years. Indian export business is facing stiff competition. With the CEPA in line now, over 90% of products exported and 80% of lines of the trade from India to UAE will have zero duty, so it will be much easier for the Indian Market to flourish in the exporting business and expand its reach globally. This duty-free access of Indian goods to the UAE is going to expand over 5-10 years and increase the percentage of the goods exported in the UAE tariff line to 97%. Under CEPA, there is also going to be the authorization of Generic Indian medicine 90 days after the approval is received from the developed countries. India and UAE will work on the Hydrogen Taskforce, which is to produce green hydrogen by developing new technologies. They are also going to promote E-commerce and more e-payment solutions. Increased Food security, investments in the agricultural sector, education (first ever IIT is going to be set up in UAE), and defense are also being addressed under CEPA.

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
This agreement is beneficial for India in a lot of ways. India is the largest exporter to UAE and now with a zero-duty pact, it can achieve global distribution through UAE, as many exports to Africa are being done via UAE. Indian Jewelers can now have easy access to the UAE market with zero duty charges. It also addresses climate change through PARIS AGREEMENT, where they can work closely with the International Renewable Energy Agency and International Solar Alliance. This goes hand in hand with the sustainable environment that every organization is trying to achieve. Increase in multiple job opportunities and better working conditions for Indians who are in the UAE. One of the simplest solution will be create TreeAndHumanKnot clusters across the countries to drive towards Net Zero


INDIA MAURITIUS CECPA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement)
($670* Million)
Dr Anup Wadhawan, Commerce Secretary, Government of India
Ambassador Mr. Haymandoyal Dillum, Secretary of Foreign Affairs,
Regional Integration and International Trade, Government of Mauritius

This is the first trade agreement of India signed with a country in Africa.
India and Mauritius signed the CECPA on February 22, 2021 and it was effective from April 1, 2021.

CECPA is providing a stage for both India and Mauritius to improve and increase their trade between the 2 countries. CECPA between India and Mauritius contains 310 export items from India and Mauritius can export 615 items. But this is only a Limited agreement in the sense that it will only cover particular sectors.

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED
“It is a limited agreement that will cover only select sectors. It will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, etc.” (dhrishtiias, 2021)
India has extended a “Special Economic Package” of USD 353 Million to Mauritius and this was used by Mauritius to implement. India and Mauritius have inaugurated a Metro Project and one Hospital project in Mauritius. The bilateral trade between India and Mauritius saw a growth of 233%. India and Mauritius also signed USD 100 Million on the Defense Line of the Credit Agreement. Domestic goods from India from the agriculture sector, textiles industry, and electronic goods will get access to the concessional custom duties in Mauritius. India service providers will have more access to the sub-sectors and broad services (115 & 11) such as R&D, Computer services, and other business services (dhrishtiias, 2021)
SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
Increased access of Indian goods and services to a wider market. Indian Service providers will have more markets under their reach. Up and coming businesses can also benefit from this agreement as they are into import/export of domestic goods also. This means that new businesses can have free entry into the bigger picture. Younger entrepreneurs always want to keep an eye on these agreements as they can open so many opportunities for businesses to flourish.

INDIA~ARGENTINA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) ($1.3* Billion)
The agreement was signed between the Indian joint venture company Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) and an Argentine state-owned enterprise, JEMSE in the presence of the Governor of the Argentine Province of Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, the head of JEMSE, Felipe Albornoz, and the CEO of KABIL India, Ranjit Rath.

On 2nd June 2020, an agreement for Mineral Resource Cooperation has been signed between India and Argentina. The main aim of this agreement is to facilitate India’s goals of energy security. They are willing to make strategic plans for joint ventures in minerals and future investments. (TPCI, 2021)

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED
Chinese-owned firms in countries like Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile have access to Lithium mine concessions. Due to the border dispute between India and China, India was not able to acquire the Lithium mine concessions. But because of this MoU with Argentina India can also acquire minerals such as Lithium. India is also working on coming into the big picture of Electric Vehicles. But they don’t have enough supply of Lithium-ion batteries because they are also used for the manufacturing of Solar panels and aerospace activities. India and Argentina are working on strengthening the activities in mining, extracting metals, and benefaction of Lithium. They also work in a “joint venture in the field of base metals, critical and strategic minerals for mutual benefit; exchange of technical and scientific information and interchange of ideas and knowledge; training and capacity building; and promotion of investment and development in the area of mining activities, would serve the objective of innovation,” the government said in a statement. (TPCI, 2021)

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
Technical advancements in the area of Mining, extracting, and using metals and minerals can be seen in the upcoming future. This means, there might be more employment opportunities for many people as mining and extracting is a very sophisticated and difficult process. New technology and education might come around for more people to know about metals and minerals. For people who are interested in entering the Technology side of mining and extracting, this might be a good window to make use of as it might open a niche sector of employment and development.


INDIA ~ BHUTAN MoU Developing Cooperation in the areas of Environment ($ 1.28* Billion)

The MoU was signed virtually by Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar from
the Indian side and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the National Environment Commission Lyonpo
Dr. Tandi Dorji from the Bhutanese side.


On June 18, 2021, an MoU for Developing Cooperation in the areas of Environment was signed between India and Bhutan. This MoU was signed virtually by the Minister of Environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the chairperson of the National Environment commission Dr. Tandi Dorji from Bhutan. (meagov, 2021)

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED
This MoU will open bilateral cooperation between India and Bhutan in the areas of climate change and waste management. India wants to be actively involved alongside Bhutan in addressing these issues like Air pollution, and chemical and waste management. This MoU can focus on strengthening technical, scientific, and management capabilities to make our planet a better place to live in.

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
Sustainability is the way to go forward and this agreement is very important as it is addressing immediate issues. TreeAndHumanKnot (TAHK) is actively involved in addressing the 17 SDG goals set by the UN by making sustainability very simple and easy to understand by the common people



INDIA~AFRICA AFCFTA African Continental Free Trade Area (~$70* Billion)

In the Presence of Ambassador of Ethiopia, HE Dr. Tizita Mulugeta, High Commissioner of Botswana,
HE Gilbert Shimane Mangole, President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization, Dr. Asif Iqbal,
CDA of Ghana Embassy and other African diplomats in the launch of the AFCFTA

June 18, 2021, ACFTA was launched in India in New Delhi. The mission is to increase intra-African trade by 52.3%.
The Indian companies can enter Africa and expand their business in that part of the world. ACFTA is the biggest
free trade agreement in the world after the World Trade Organization.

BUSINESS REASONS AND DETAILS INVOLVED

Increasing the India-Africa trade and bilateral investments is the goal of this Trade. India will help Africa deepen their economic, social, and political affairs and by 2030, the African market size is expected to reach 1.7 Billion people and business spending of USD 6.7 Trillion. (theprint, 2021) In the agreement, countries have committed to removing tariffs on 90% of the goods and the remaining 10% will be thought about in the later stage. They are thinking of expanding on the manufacturing side of this and getting back into the competition with other countries. Currently, only 10% of the total GDP of Africa comprises manufacturing. But they are planning to increase that and this will mean India can play a big part in the import/Export of materials into Africa for getting the finished goods.

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT
Increase in employment opportunities in the industrial and service sectors is possible because of this Trade between India and Africa. Also, Import and export between India and Africa can be carried out effectively and conveniently.

Compiled by Sai krishnaa and picture by Mehak