New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) India has secured certainty in market access, non-discriminatory treatment and a transparent regulatory environment in the EFTA countries for a number of domestic service sectors such as IT, accounting and auditing under the free trade agreement signed on Sunday, an official said.
India on Sunday signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) under which New Delhi received a USD 100 billion investment commitment from these four European countries.
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The agreement, the official said would further promote exports from sectors including IT/ITES, business services, professional services such as accounting and auditing, architecture, engineering, R&D and environmental services.
“Through the EFTA free trade agreement, India has been able to secure certainty in market access, non-discriminatory treatment and a regulatory environment that is transparent, objective and least burdensome in a number of service sectors,” the official added.
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Commenting on this sector, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that the trade in services chapter includes commitments to improve market access in various service sectors, such as business, telecommunications, environmental services, insurance and banking, and maritime transport.
It said a general commitment for different categories under the movement of professionals, enabling service providers from India and EFTA countries to work in each other’s markets with fewer barriers.
“However, the actual benefits from such FTAs in the services sector are often limited, as they typically only confirm existing levels of policy commitments, effectively maintaining the current situation,” GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
Measuring the benefits of trade in services between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is challenging because detailed country-wise data on services trade is not publicly available, he said.
GTRI estimates the two way annual services trade to be the range of annual USD 6-8 billion with most Swiss earning coming from Indian Tourists and Indian earning from IT services and consultancy firms.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
