Bilateral & regional trade agreements (operational & under negotiation)

Name of the agreement	Member countries	Scope	State of play
Asia pacific trade agreement (APTA)	Bangladesh, republic of korea & china, India , sri lanka.	Trade in goods	–           signed in july 1975. –           It was initially known as the bankok agreement. –           It is an initiative under UN economic & social commission for asia & the pacific (UNESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among developing country members of the region. –           In 2001, with china joining the initiative it became the APTA. –           A ministerial meeting held in November 2005 decided to deepen & widen the scope of the agreement. –           The UNESCAP office is a key mover behind the agreement & also functions as the secretariate. –           The latest ministerial meeting in October 2007 in goa decided to further deepen tariff cuts & expand the scope of agreement to non-tariff issues, services & investment.
Bhutan – India agreement on trade commerce & transit	India , Bhutan	Trade in goods	–           the agreement entered into force in july2006. –           It is the revised signed version of the indo-bhutan trade treaty signed in thimphu in jan 1972. –           In the revised agreement 8 exit/entry points have been added to the existing 12 points with certain modifications to simplify the export/import procedure. –           There are no modalities as yet for implementation  of a free trade regime.
India – Maldives trade agreement	India , Maldives	Trade in goods	–           the agreement was signed in april 1981 in male by the Indian minister of state of the ministry of commerce, khursheed alam khan & the Maldives minister of fisheries , abdul sattar. –           Under the agreement both countries agreed on board trade principles.
Indo – Nepal treaty of trade	India, Nepal	Trade in goods	–           the 1992 agreement was to expire in march 2007 but after talks it has been extended upto march 2012. –           Under the agreement Nepal’s manufactured goods, barring 3 items in the negative list & 5 items with quantitative restrictions, will have duty-free access without reciprocity. –           Agricultural products are traded both ways without tariffs. –           India continues to push for inclusion of infrastructure (especially hydropower) & simplification of customs check offices. –           The Nepal business community is concerned about non-tariffs barriers, trade facilitation measures, dispute settlement mechanism as well as unpredictable rises in tariffs itself. –           These issues were not addressed adequately during a meeting in February 2007 & were hence not included in the new agreement .

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