Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

09-May-2012 17:19 IST

Removal of Protectionist Trade Barriers by SAFTA Nations

This issue is being discussed in the trade related meetings of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. There is a general consensus amongst the SAFTA member countries to liberalize the SAFTA trading arrangements and to remove the trade barriers. This progress is ongoing in consultation with the stakeholders.

This information was given by Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia , Minister of State for Commerce & Industry in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

DS/GK

Removal of protectionist trade barriers signals SAFTA liberalization and ongoing stakeholder consultations to ease intra regional trade. SAFTA member governments have reached a general consensus to liberalize SAFTA trading arrangements and remove protectionist trade barriers to facilitate intra regional commerce; implementation is proceeding through ongoing consultations with stakeholders and trade related meetings among SAARC nations to refine modalities and coordinate phased measures for liberalization.