Industry & Economy
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Foreign Trade
Chamber hails SAFTA pact
Our Bureau
New Delhi
,
Jan. 7
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has welcomed the signing of SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement) at the recently concluded SAARC Summit at Islamabad terming it a giant step towards furthering economic cooperation among the member countries of the regional grouping.
According to Mr R.K. Somany, President, Assocham, with free trade being the order of the day, the high tariff barriers between the South Asian economies had only resulted in restricting inter-regional trade, which is now expected to double every five years from the current level of $6 billion. Mr Somany hoped that the establishment of the free trade zone following the signing of this framework treaty, will be operationalised in 2006.
While threats of cheap imports would be a concern for both Indian industry and the Government, the lowering of the average import duty within the region to the range of 0-5 per cent will make output from the area competitive vis-à-vis the ASEAN, the Chamber said.
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