An official stated that India has sought greater access to markets from South Korea for certain products such as steel, rice, and shrimp to grow exports of these goods.
These are part of ongoing negotiations to upgrade the two countries’ existing free trade agreement, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The agreement became operational in January 2010. The tenth round of upgrading discussions is now underway.
“We are asking for greater market access for products such as steel, rice, and shrimp”, the official continued.
In the discussion, India raised concerns over Korean firms refusing to buy Indian steel.
“Korean corporations in India make orders from their Korean counterparts, resulting in a double blow for Indian businesses. The Korean side has asked for an increase in price competitiveness here”, the official noted.
Korea has a rice tariff quota of five lakh tonnes. They have allocated a quota of 4.8 lakh tonnes to five nations: China, Australia, the United States, Thailand, and Vietnam, with the remaining countries receiving only 20,000 tonnes.
“India is in the others category. So we are demanding either to put India in the country’s specific category or increase our quota. South Korea has an import duty of 513 percent on rice”, the spokesman said, adding that shrimp were subject to a 5 percent duty.
Korea, on the other hand, seeks more access to industries such as car parts and chemicals.
The ninth round of India-Korea CEPA upgrade negotiations took place in Seoul from November 3-4, 2022.
Both sides hoped that the CEPA upgrade negotiations would help to promote and deepen bilateral economic cooperation.
India expressed severe worries over the rising trade disparity between the two countries. India’s exports to the country totaled $6.65 billion in 2022-23, compared to $8 billion in 2021-22. Imports totaled $21.22 billion in 2022-23 and $17.5 billion in 2021-22.
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