In January 2010 India’s Free Trade Agreement with the Asso- ciation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) became operational with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. India had signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in goods with ASEAN in August 2009. The FTA provides for the elimination of tar- iffs on about 80 percent of the traded goods by 2016. India has specified a ‘negative list’ of items to be excluded from the list of tar- iff concessions and a ‘sensitive list’ for which tariffs will be reduced to 5 per cent. For ‘special products’ like crude and refined palm oil, tea, coffee, and pepper, tariffs will be brought down to levels be- tween 37.5 to 50 per cent by 2019. The FTA also provides for bilateral safeguards against a sudden surge of imports.
Indo-ASEAN Agreement Boosts India’s Image
India has signed a FTA with ASEAN, which will significantly boost trade in south Asia. This report studies how this diplomatic success will affect India's image on a global stage.