India seeks opening up of services sector

Talks between the two nations to start end-November or early December.

The first round of formal negotiations for having a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Thailand is going to be held in Bangkok in the end of November or early December. Both sides would be meeting for the first time for a full-fledged round, since there has been a change of government in Thailand. India is seeking greater movement of persons with Thailand in the deal.

Both sides held an informal round of talks on the intention to have the CECA on the sidelines during the Asean (Association of South-East Asian Nations) Economic Ministers meeting in Manado, Indonesia, in August.
 

TRADE TRACKER

* Bilateral trade between India and Thailand has grown 6 fold in the last decade and touched $6 in 2010, growing at over 30% from the previous year

* The trade between the two countries is likely to go up to $10 billion mark by the end of 2012

* Indian companies have invested $2 billion in the Thai economy and companies from Thailand have invested nearly $1 billion

* The field of infrastructure is an area of high priority for India and the next 5 years will see investments of over USD 1 trillion in this sector

* Over 8,00,000 Indian tourists visit Thailand and almost an equal number of tourists from Thailand visit India

* India expects investments of $200 billion in the agro processing sector and growth of 20% in the next five years

Under the agreement with Thailand, which is also part of the 10-member Asean bloc, India has been demanding opening up of the services sector for greater movement of its professionals in Thailand such as doctors, nurses, architects and chefs, officials in the department of commerce told Business Standard.

India has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean in merchandise goods, while a deal on services trade has got delayed due to several roadblocks. The deal would also lead to slashing of tariffs on as many as 94 items traded between India and Thailand. India already has an early harvest scheme with Thailand since 2004 that led to speedy elimination of tariff on 82 items of export interest to the sides. Tariffs on all these 82 items became zero for both sides in 2006.

Some of the topmost items traded between both the countries are fruits, wheat, fish, ores, chemicals, inorganic acids, alloys, rubber, plastics and gear boxes.

Both sides are also looking towards having a trilateral trade corridor that would link both the countries through Myanmar.

The India-Thailand Trade Negotiating Committee has been constituted to negotiate a comprehensive FTA covering trade in goods, trade in services, investment, rules of origin and dispute settlement mechanism. Talks to have the CECA started in November 2001 when the then Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to set up a joint working group to undertake a feasibility study of a free trade pact.