November 22, 2001

'16'

MARAN CALLS FOR STEPPING UP INDIA'S SHARE OF EU's GLOBAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT

        Shri Murasoli Maran, Union Minister of Commerce & India, has called for diversification and further expansion of India's trade with the European Union (EU) as India's current share in the EU's global imports is just about 1% and there is ample scope for raising it further. Addressing the Second India-EU Business Summit here this morning, Shri Maran said that diversification could be achieved by addressing growth sectors like food processing, pharmaceuticals, software, electronics etc., and urged trade and industry from both sides to focus their future initiatives in appropriate sectors so as to substantially step up the Indo-EU bilateral trade from it present annual level of US $ 20 billion. The Minister also highlighted some of the problems faced by the Indian trade and industry in the EU market in the form of non-tariff barriers and urged the EU for a deeper appreciation of large developing economies like India through positive steps in terms of granting GSP (Generalised System of Preferences), reducing non-tariff barriers and revisiting anti-dumping or anti-subsidy actions against India in view of India's small share of the EU market. The India-EU Business Summit, which has been jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) along with their counterpart trade and industry bodies of the EU, was also attended by Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry; Mrs. Annemie Neyts Uyttebroeck, Minister for Trade Policy & Agriculture of Belgium; Mr. Pascal Lamy, the EC Commissioner for Trade; Mr. Chirayu R Amin, President, FICCI; and Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, President, CII.

        On the investment front, Shri Maran underlined that while the EU's share in India's FDI approvals since 1991 accounted for 25% of the total FDI approvals, the actual inflow with a realisation rate of a little over 24% was not commensurate with the potential and called for remedial action on the part of all concerned. India's FDI policy, he said, was based on the three pillars of "Simplicity, Transparency and Non-discrimination". Liberalisation effected in a large number of sectors such as insurance, mass rapid transport system, manufacturing activities in Special Economic Zones, telecom services etc. had made India an attractive investment destination, the Minister said.

        Referring to the recently concluded Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO, Shri Maran emphasised the importance of fully integrating the needs and concerns of developing countries into all aspects of the WTO's activities and said that India looked forward to working with the EU and other countries in carrying forward the work programme agreed in Doha. "We were able to join the consensus in the adoption of the Doha Declaration after some of our key concerns were addressed. We hope that the additional time of two years will allow developing countries to study the implications of any possible negotiations on the so called Singapore subjects before taking a considered view on such negotiations which are to be taken up only on the basis of an explicit consensus. It is also important that all the outstanding developmental concerns raised by developing counties on implementation are duly and urgently addressed and form the prime objective in the next WTO initiatives", Shri Maran said.