Damage has already been done. Due to India`s intransigence in free trade, Africa is on the verge of becoming a major competitor. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) entered into force on 1 January this year. This agreement eliminates tariffs on 95% of all goods traded across African borders, meaning that components can be purchased duty-free throughout Africa, bound from producers of other origins, and then resold or exported to the respective African domestic markets. China, which helped broker the deal, responded to this opportunity by developing special economic and free trade zones across Africa. The Government of the Republic of India and the Central People`s Government of the People`s Republic of China, inspired by the common will to develop trade between the two countries and further strengthen the already existing friendship between the Governments and peoples of India and China, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit at the time, The AfDB said: “Open regionalism and trade cooperation between the world`s two largest developing countries, the People`s Republic of China (PRC) and India, can promote outward-looking development and intra-regional trade on the basis of comparative advantages and available factor endowments. Given the recent wave of global sub-regional and bilateral trade cooperation, opportunity costs could rise if we do not move towards greater trade integration between the PRC and India. That was 15 years ago, and the opportunity cost has effectively been lost. At the first meeting of the Bangkok Agreement Council of Ministers in Beijing at the end of 2005, representatives of member countries approved a revised text of the APTA and the holding of negotiations on tariff reduction, which were concluded in 2006. This agreement is available here and contains concessions made by India and China. (v) The issuing authority receiving the notification may postpone the proposed verification visit and notify the importing Party of this intention within fifteen days of receipt of the notification. Notwithstanding any postponement, each verification visit shall be carried out within sixty days of the date of receipt or for a longer period agreed by the parties. The objective of this Agreement is to promote economic development through a continuous process of expansion of trade among the developing countries of ESCAP and to promote economic cooperation through the adoption of mutually beneficial trade liberalization measures consistent with their current and future development and trade needs.
After the Chinese and Indian militaries withdrew from their respective positions in Ladakh and Indian Trade Minister Som Parkash said that “foreign direct investment is still allowed by all WTO members, including China,” it is now time for the two sides to finally agree and tackle the urgent issue of trade. Each participating State shall, in accordance with its needs and development objectives, take appropriate measures to progressively relax non-tariff measures that may affect imports of products covered by its national schedule of concessions. Issues relating to technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures between participating States will be addressed, to the extent possible, in accordance with WTO rules on these issues. The participating States shall also make available to each other, on a transparent basis, a list of non-tariff measures applicable to the goods granted. The Indian government said a preferential trade deal with China was being “negotiated”. That is what they have been saying since 2005. Now is the time to move forward. If a Participating State considers that another Participating State is not properly complying with a particular provision of this Agreement and that such an infringement affects its own commercial relations with that Participating State, the Participating State may formally represent the latter State, taking due account of the representation made to it. If no satisfactory adjustment is made between the participating States concerned within 120 days of the date of the opinion, the matter may be referred to the Standing Committee, which may decide to submit to each participating State such recommendation as it deems appropriate. If the Participating State concerned does not comply with the recommendation of the Standing Committee, the Standing Committee may authorize any Participating State to suspend, in respect of the non-conforming State, the application of the obligations under this Agreement as the Standing Committee deems appropriate. The Committee shall continuously encourage negotiations on inclusion in national schedules of concessions and on increasing the number of participating States and shall encourage such negotiations at the time of the annual trade reviews referred to in article 25 or at such other time as it deems desirable. .