Thrissur (Ker),Aug18 The free trade agreement with ASEAN would be a 'boon' to India as exports would go up, P C Chacko, MP today said and described as 'totally baseless' the allegation that it would break the backbone of Kerala's economy.
Chacko, who is a member of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on WTO, told PTI that the criticism of the agreement by political parties in the state was 'politically motivated'.
The main achievement of India in finalising the FTA with ASEAN was that both negative list and sensitive list had been made out in favour of the country in general and the States like Kerala in particular, he added.
India's trade and commerce with the South East Asian countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam was worth USD 40 billion in 2009 and it would go up to USD 50 billion in 2010 itself, besides there would be a considerable improvement in the exports year by year, he said.
Kerala had no cause for anxiety as 489 items had been added to the 'Negative list' including coffee, pepper, rubber, tea, cardamom and other spices. The import duty on these products would be retained.
Besides, several items had also been included in the 'sensitive list' with a view to not affect Kerala's agricultural economy, he said.
Source : Samaylive.com