To ensure better utilisation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the Commerce Ministry has launched a trade portal providing exporters with information on preferential tariffs and rules of origin in such markets.

The ‘India Trade Portal’ will also have other information of importance to exporters such as technical barriers faced by trade in different markets.

Feedback sought “Exporters should make best use of the portal, give continuous feedback for further improvement and additional details that they may need,” said Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce & Industry Minister, inaugurating the portal on Monday.

India has signed a number of FTAs with various countries and regional blocs over the last few years, but exporters have not been able to utilise them well because of lack of knowledge about what the agreements offered. The Indian Trade Portal will make available important data for use of exporters and importers at one place, in a user friendly manner and this will contribute to ease of doing business for trade and industry, an official release said.

The portal has been developed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and will also be maintained by it.

Important FTAs signed by India include ones with Japan, South Korea, the 10-member Asean and Sri Lanka.

The country is also negotiating pacts with Australia, New Zealand, the EU and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 16 countries including major Asian economies such as China.

According to FIEO, the portal will also facilitate the Indian industry’s integration into the regional value chain.

“We can look for duty free import of semi-finished goods from such partner countries, converting them into value added finished products with skills and wage advantage at home, for exports to any partner country with duty free benefit on imports therein,” FIEO said in its release.

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