Detail

The 6th Meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement Joint Committee (AITIGA JC 6) will be held from 18-22 November 2024 in New Delhi, India

The 6th Meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement Joint Committee (AITIGA JC 6) is scheduled to be held from 18-22 November 2024 in India to continue detailed discussions on the negotiation process to upgrade this agreement. The meeting will be held in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Commerce of India. Delegates from ASEAN countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will participate in the meeting.

53892756501_a656c54a41_z
The 5th AITIGA-JC Meeting Convenes in the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia

The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) under the ASEAN-India Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation was signed on 13 August 2009 and entered into force on 1 January 2010.

At the 19th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Consultation held on 16 September 2022 in Cambodia, the ASEAN and Indian Economic Ministers approved the Scope Document for the Review of the AITIGA Agreement and agreed to activate the AITIGA Joint Committee (JC) mechanism to conduct the review process of the Agreement, to address implementation issues as well as review and upgrade towards a more effective, simpler, more user-friendly AITIGA Agreement, facilitating better trade for businesses and in line with current global trade practices. A total of 8 sub-committees have been established under the ATIGA Joint Committee to conduct negotiations on various policy areas related to the Agreement such as “National Treatment”, “Market Access”, “Rules of Origin”, “Standards and Technical Regulations”, “Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation”… To date, the AITIGA Joint Committee has held 05 meetings in May, August 2023 and February, May, July 2024.

India and ASEAN countries are aiming to complete the review and upgrade of the AITIGA Agreement by 2025. The review and upgrade of the AITIGA Agreement is expected to help facilitate further expansion of trade between India and ASEAN in a balanced and sustainable manner. ASEAN is considered one of India’s important trading partners, accounting for about 11% of the country’s total global trade. According to records, the total import-export turnover of goods between ASEAN and India is 100.7 billion USD (of which ASEAN exports to India reach 65.8 billion USD and imports 34.9 billion USD). By the end of the second quarter of 2024, the total import-export turnover of goods between ASEAN and India is 52.6 billion USD (of which ASEAN exports to India reach 34.6 billion USD and imports 18 billion USD).

Currently, AITIGA is considered to be the agreement with the lowest level of market opening commitment and utilization rate among ASEAN+ FTAs, therefore, priority countries focus on negotiating, reviewing and upgrading related contents such as market opening, rules of origin, non-tariff measures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, SPS and TBT measures, trade defense, economic and technical cooperation.

Trade Situation Between Vietnam and India

Trade is considered a vital pillar in the bilateral relations between Vietnam and India, demonstrating consistent growth over the past 26 years.

India has become one of Vietnam's top eight trading partners and is the largest trade partner in South Asia, accounting for nearly 80% of Vietnam's exports to the region. Meanwhile, Vietnam ranks as India's 17th largest trading partner globally and the fourth largest within ASEAN.

With its strategic geographic location, India serves as a gateway for Vietnamese goods to enter and access South Asian markets. Conversely, Vietnam is seen as a gateway for Indian products to penetrate the ASEAN market and other partners.
According to statistics from the General Department of Customs of Viet Nam, in 2023, the total bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and India reached USD 14.36 billion, a decrease of 4.68% compared to 2022. Of this, exports totaled USD 8.50 billion, an increase of 6.74%, while imports stood at USD 5.86 billion, down 17.47%.

The average growth rate of import-export turnover from 2013 to 2023 was 17.62%. Both Vietnam and India are high-growth, stable economies that have made significant efforts to recover and strengthen after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam noted that the complementary nature of the two countries' commodity structures is an advantage that has contributed to the rapid and positive development of Vietnam-India economic and trade relations in recent times.

In the future, both countries are striving to achieve a bilateral trade turnover goal of USD 20 billion.