August has seen the commencement of a number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) involving some of Asia’s leading economies.
A trade deal between India and Japan came into effect on August 1. According to a report on the Feedstuffs website, the deal would see import duties on around two thirds of traded products phased out over the next 10 years. It was believed this would marginally increase the flow of agricultural products between the two countries.
India’s commerce secretary Rahul Khullar said the deal would be good for commerce, trade and investment in both countries. “It is part of the building blocks for a much larger agenda for building a comprehensive economic partnership for East Asia, which covers South East Asian nations, China, Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
According to the website, India currently has FTAs with Singapore, Korea. Meanwhile Japan has FTAs with Chile, Mexico, Switzerland, Brunei, as well as several other South East Asian nations, including Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
China and Costa Rica have also entered into a FTA this month, which will gradually see tariffs cut on 90 per cent of commodities traded between the two nations.
Officials in China reported that of the country’s agriculture sector the fruit and vegetable industry would benefit most from the accord.
Costa Rica is the tenth country to sign an FTA with China and joins the likes of New Zealand, Singapore, Peru, Chile, Pakistan and a number of South East Asian nations.
