FTP proposes new institutions to boost global trade

New Delhi: The new Foreign Trade Policy unveiled today proposed setting up of a host of institutions, including Trade Council and National Committee on Trade Facilitation, to improve India’s share in global trade and implement of WTO obligations.[caption id=“attachment_2182915” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union commerce secretary Rajeev Kher. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The country aims at increasing its share in world exports from 2 percent to 3.5 percent by 2020. Pursuant to the WTO agreement on trade facilitation, the policy has proposed setting up National Committee on Trade Facilitation. That pact is aimed at easing customs procedure to reduce transactions cost for traders. The policy said several initiatives are under way for the simplification of procedures and digitization of various processes involved in trade transactions. Steps are being taken by various ministries and departments to simplify administrative procedures and reduce transaction costs based on the recommendations of two task forces constituted by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The implementation of these recommendations is being actively pursued, the policy said. Commerce secretary Rajeev Kher said that India is committed to implement the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). A National Committee on Trade Facilitation is being constituted for domestic coordination and implementation of the TFA, he said. The secretary also said an important consideration while framing the policy was aligning FTP with both India’s interests as well its obligations and commitments under various WTO agreements has In the ongoing Doha Round of trade negotiations, he said, India will continue to work towards fulfilling its objectives and to work with like-minded members to remove any asymmetries in the multilateral trade rules which place a developing country at a disadvantage, such as the rules relating to public stock-holding for food security purposes. “The current WTO rules as well as those under negotiation envisage the eventual phasing out of export subsidies. This is a pointer to the direction that export promotion efforts will have to take in future, i.e. towards more fundamental systemic measures rather than incentives and subsidies alone,” he said. He also said that specific measures will be taken to facilitate the entry of new entrepreneurs and manufacturers in global trade through extensive training programmes. “The Niryat Bandhu scheme will be revamped to achieve these objectives and also further dovetailed with the ongoing outreach programmes,” Kher said, adding capacity development efforts will focus on export promotion councils and commercial missions. Further, a new institution - Centre for Research in International Trade - is being established not only to strengthen India’s research capabilities in the area of international trade, but also to enable developing countries to articulate their views and concerns from a well-informed position of strength. The policy also said that two institutional mechanisms are being put in place for regular communication with stakeholders - the Board of Trade and the Council for Trade Development (CTD) and Promotion. While the Board of Trade will have an advisory role, the CTD would have representation from State and UT governments. “The CTD will be an institution between the Centre and the states with the objective of internalising the thinking and the processes and the participation of state government into central government policy making, implementation and monitoring,” Kher said. PTI