The Indian government has taken a cautious approach to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), prioritizing the protection of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and farmers, according to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Explaining this measured stance, he stated, “Modi govt has been very cautious on FTA for two reasons. Number one, weighing the experiences and the results of previous and number two, our concern for the impact of FTAs on MSMEs.”
Jaishankar underscored the importance of safeguarding domestic interests during trade negotiations. “We have been pressing very strongly for a review of the ASEAN India trading goods, agreement, because we have concerns about the impact of that FTA on the development of manufacturing in it, and we feel that FTA should not become, in a way, damaging to the Indian economy,” he explained.
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Commenting on the ongoing FTA discussions with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), Jaishankar highlighted the complexity involved. “When it comes to EU and UK, I think it’s complex, because there are many non-trade issues also, so those also have to be negotiated so and in the case of EU, because there are multiple members, everybody has their interest. Overall we benefit we believe that these will benefit us,” he remarked.
On the disruption of shipping routes in the Red Sea, Jaishankar expressed India’s concern and detailed its proactive response. “It is a big concern for us. We have deployed several Navy ships in the region to mitigate the impact. The disruption has had a significant economic consequence for India,” he noted.
He further emphasized India’s economic interests in West Asia and the Middle East, stressing the importance of regional stability. “It is a big concern for us, we have tried to do our share. We actually deployed some Navy ships as well, quite a few Navy ships there. It has disrupted logistics,” he said.
Discussing diplomatic efforts to address the issue, Jaishankar added, “So we have actually been in touch with all the major players, including Iran and Israel. We want a cooling down. We want a cease fire. And we want negotiation so that actually our economic interests are not written.”
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