By IANS,
Kochi : Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday said a cabinet sub-committee will hold detailed talks with the Kerala government over India’s recently signed free trade agreement (FTA) with the ASEAN nations.
The committee, set up to study the impact of the FTA on the agricultural sector, is headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and includes Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Antony.
“This committee will hold talks with the state government and all other concerned parties. Don’t worry about it,” Antony told reporters here on his arrival for a two-day state visit.
The agreement, signed Aug 13 in Bangkok by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, will come into effect Jan 1 next year.
The critics of the pact say it would affect the agriculture sector as import tariff on many agricultural produces will be eliminated.
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan earlier said the central government ignored the concerns of the state and the FTA would be detrimental to the interests of the agriculture sector in the state.
However, Antony said the shortcomings in the agreement could be overcome with the government’s help.
“You should understand that of the 489 items in the negative list, 303 items are from the agriculture sector. It includes highly sensitive items like pepper, coffee and tea.”
According to the agreement, India will have the right to decide the tariff on the items in the negative list for 10 years.
“By that time, we would be able to overcome all shortcomings with the proposed government help,” said Antony.
Once the agreement is implemented, the present 70 percent import duty on pepper will come down by 2 percent every year.
Likewise, the import duty on tea and coffee, which is now 80 percent, would come down to 45 percent and that on rubber would come down to 50 percent after 10 years.