India and Korea to boost economic ties by improving Free Trade Agreement

India and Korea are exploring new ways to improve the economic partnership by working on a free trade agreement FTA known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to lower the non-tariff barriers, at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi.

According to Korea’s presidential office, the leaders discussed and agreed to pursue progress in negotiations to improve the CEPA and recognized the potential benefits of the upcoming Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) between their customs authorities. The Korea-India CEPA took effect in 2010.

Experts said that CEPA needs to be improved, and shared their concerns on the concession rate which is too low compared to the Japan-India free trade agreement, while some items carry heavier duties than the World Trade Organization’s most-favoured-nation tariffs. To address this, Korea and India have discussed various topics to enhance the free trade agreement, but did not reach a consensus.

To address non-tariff barriers, the two countries will set up EODES, which will allow real-time exchange of origin data between their customs authorities. This will allow paperless transactions under the free trade agreement.
They also accepted that India and Korea, as like-minded countries, are establishing a strong framework for cooperation based on universal values such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. They promised to cooperate in pursuing Korea’s Indo-Pacific policy and India’s vision for the Indo-Pacific.