Need to utilise, leverage FTAs: Commerce Secy

The Indian industry needs to leverage and utilise the free trade agreements (FTAs) that India is finalising, as they provide huge opportunities for both trade and investments, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday. The secretary said that the track record of the country fully utilising and leveraging FTAs is "not great". He also said that the country's industrial policy should complement its trade policy, as trade is also a function of how India invests and produces. "...FTA utilization is something we are questioned again and again. What is the benefit that FTAs are actually leading to?" he said here while addressing a session on free trade agreements.  India has implemented trade pacts with a number of countries and groupings, including Singapore, Japan, Korea and Asean. Agrawal said these pacts have led to increase in bilateral trade, but India's exports have grown at a slower pace than imports. Talking about the trade pacts with Mauritius, the UAE, Australia, the EU, UK, EFTA, New Zealand and Oman, he said these are "modern" agreements and have gone beyond tariffs. He added that all the stakeholders, including the industry and the Government, need to take steps to make these pacts useful for the country.  Dissemination of information and capacity building is important for increasing utilisation of these FTAs.