India and the Republic of Korea signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 7th August, 2009, which has come into force from 1st January, 2010. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covers a number of areas including trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, intellectual property rights, investment, etc. The agreement promotes stronger trade and commercial ties between two countries, and opens up opportunities for exporters and investors to expand their business in the tariff lines which are opened or in which tariff is reduced. During the period 2009-10 to 2013-14, bilateral trade between the two countries increased from US $ 12 billion to US $ 16.68 billion, including increase in Indian exports from US $ 3.42 billion to US $ 4.20 billion. There are export opportunities for several Indian products in Korean market including, inter-alia, mineral fuels/ mineral oils, iron and steel, organic chemicals, aluminium and articles thereof, residues and waste from food industries, cotton products etc. In services sector, India has negotiated a ‘Trade in Services’ chapter under India-Korea CEPA wherein Korea has taken commitments in a number of sectors/sub-sectors that are commercially meaningful for India. Under sub-sector “Other Business Services”, Korea has taken commitments in many services including, inter-alia, advertising, management consulting, project management, technical inspection, placement of personnel etc., the benefits of which is available to Indian service suppliers. The Government on its part organises outreach programmes in various parts of the country to spread awareness among the Industry people/exporters/ service providers about the opportunities available under India-Korea CEPA to boost exports to Korea.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement expands market access for Indian exporters through tariff concessions and service commitments. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Korea creates tariff concessions and regulatory commitments across trade in goods, services, rules of origin, intellectual property and investment to improve market access. It opens opportunities for Indian exports in sectors such as mineral fuels, iron and steel, organic chemicals, aluminium, food-industry residues and cotton products. The Trade in Services chapter contains Korean commitments in several sub-sectors-including advertising, management consulting, project management, technical inspection and placement of personnel-benefiting Indian service suppliers, supported by government outreach programmes.