India, Japan to execute CEPA from August 01, 2011

29 Jun 2011 Evaluate

Under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), India and Japan are scheduled to execute a comprehensive free trade agreement from August 01, 2011 to boost bilateral trade between the countries to $25 billion by 2015. As per CEPA, which was signed in February, the two major Asian economies will eliminate import duties on 94 percent of their trade items in ten years.

Japanese Ambassador to India Akitaka Saiki said 'CEPA is going to come into force from August 1. Japanese Parliament -- Diet -- has approved the agreement”. India will remove duties on products like diesel engines, steel products and electronic items like DVD players and video cameras. 'Japan will be liberalizing duty on fruits, sweet corn, strawberries and peaches in the next 7-10 years,' Akitaka Saiki added.

Saiki said the pact will improve the two-way trade and also boost investment between the nations. The free trade agreement also offers access to Indian professional like researchers, accountants, English and yoga teachers and management consultant to Japanese market, which is straggling from ageing population. Both the nations are aiming to double the two-way trade from $12.5 billion at present to $25 billion by 2015.  India has already done FTA with Singapore and South Korea.

Japanese Ambassador said, India has been the number one recipient of aid from Japan and despite the recent earthquake and tsunami, 'we are committed to carrying out flagship projects like Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor', he added. The $90 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is the mega infrastructure development project, planned in 2006 and including six states Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, to develop with the collaboration of Japan.

On the matter of import of food products in the wake of the recent radiation leaks from a quake-hit nuclear plant at Fukushima, in Japan, he said 'Food products have to go through rigid food safety tests. (Our) government is encouraging not to hesitate to buy food items from Japan'.

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