FKCCI "Korea-India CEPA Amendment Negotiations Must Be Concluded Quickly"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) has requested the swift conclusion of the revision negotiations for the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and its enforcement within this year.

On the 9th, FKI announced that it held a business breakfast meeting by inviting Sripriya Ranganathan, the Ambassador of India to Korea, at the FKI Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul.

At the meeting, Kwon Tae-shin, Vice Chairman of FKI, emphasized the need for the prompt conclusion of the Korea-India CEPA revision negotiations and its enforcement within this year.

Korea and India have discussed improvements to the existing Korea-India CEPA through seven rounds of official negotiations since the start of improvement talks in June 2016, and reached an agreement during the July 2018 summit between the two countries’ leaders to achieve early results in the revision negotiations.

The main contents of the Korea-India CEPA include improvements in tariff concessions on goods (Korea’s side: mangoes, processed agricultural and fishery products, etc.; India’s side: petrochemical products, processed foods, etc.), expansion of service sector openings (culture and sports sectors, etc.), and relaxation of rules of origin.

Although Korea and India rank as the 11th and 7th largest economies in the world respectively, the trade volume between the two countries remained around $20 billion last year. In particular, due to COVID-19, the trade volume from January to April this year decreased by about 8.3% compared to the same period last year.

Vice Chairman Kwon requested the Indian government to ease import restrictions on Korean exports. As of the end of last year, India has imposed or is investigating a total of 32 import restriction measures on Korean exports.

This is the second highest number of import restriction measures imposed on Korean exports after the United States. Especially, in the past year alone, India has initiated a total of 12 new investigations including anti-dumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards, thereby strengthening import restrictions.

Vice Chairman Kwon noted that the investment environment in India has become more difficult due to COVID-19 and requested attention and support to at least freeze the import restriction measures at the levels before last year.

He also mentioned that Korean businesspeople who have invested in or entered India are facing restrictions on entering India due to COVID-19, and requested that after the COVID-19 situation in India has somewhat eased, India simplify the entry procedures for Korean businesspeople, similar to the ‘Fast Track’ established between Korea and China since May.

Vice Chairman Kwon referred to the many difficulties faced by local Korean companies due to the nationwide lockdown in India caused by COVID-19, including suspension of production activities, and requested the ambassador to ask the Indian government for consideration to minimize damages to invested companies and to provide equal treatment to Korean companies as Indian companies when supporting affected companies.

Meanwhile, Sripriya Ranganathan, the Ambassador of India to Korea, delivered a keynote speech on the ‘Indian Business Environment in the Post-COVID Era.’ Fifteen businesspeople interested in investment and entry into India, including Yoon Do-sun, Vice President of CJ Logistics, and Jung Ji-ho, Vice President of Shinhan Bank, attended the meeting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.