NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said little headway was made in the review of 15-year-old free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean, despite nine rounds of negotiations since 2022.The minister’s statement came days after controversy erupted over his comments on some of the Asean countries being a B-team of China. While the assertion was not taken favourably by some of the countries. which are part of the 10-nation trading bloc, the commerce department and the ministry of external affairs are seen to be on the same page, with sources confirming that there is an attempt to stonewall the talks.In 2019, Asean agreed to the review after much pushing by India, but then did not commence negotiations for almost two years. Indian authorities argued that China worked out arrangements through companies and affiliates, which allowed it to route subsidised goods through one of the countries that make up the trading bloc.

The Modi govt argued that trade deal with Asean was not negotiated properly by the UPA, resulting in the terms of trade being tilted in favour of these countries, which was visible through the rising trade deficit. Officials pointed out that in return for India opening up 71% of its tariff lines, Indonesia responded for only 41% of the products, with two-thirds of the trade liberalised in the case of Vietnam and Thailand – areas where India is seeking correction.Addressing an event to commemorate the third anniversary of Vanijya Bhawan, the first new office block to come up along Kartavya Path, Goyal said that India was now seeking to enter into FTAs with advanced economies that were complementary and not competing for the same market. “Instead of competition, it is a spirit of collaboration,” he told reporters.