AITIGA Review Progresses, Deficit in Focus
New Delhi: India moved closer to updating its trade agreement with ASEAN at the 10th Joint Committee Meeting in New Delhi from August 10 to 14, 2025, but left final changes for a meeting in Jakarta next month, aiming to balance a $123 billion trade relationship marked by a $45.2 billion deficit. The talks, held at Vanijya Bhawan in a hybrid format, signal India’s push to strengthen ties with a bloc accounting for 11% of its global trade.
Co-chaired by Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, and Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade), Ministry of Investment, Trade & Industry, Malaysia, the meeting included delegates from all ten ASEAN nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Building on eight prior negotiation rounds since 2019, the Joint Committee worked to make the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) more effective, accessible, and trade-friendly, addressing India’s concerns about uneven tariffs and rules that allegedly allow Chinese goods to flood its markets via ASEAN, according to Ministry of Commerce data.
Seven of eight AITIGA Sub-Committees met on the sidelines, focusing on key areas: Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (SC-CPTF), Legal and Institutional Issues (SC-LII), National Treatment and Market Access (SC-NTMA), Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SC-SPS), Rules of Origin (SC-ROO), Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures (SC-STRACAP), and Trade Remedies (SC-TR). These discussions tackled customs efficiency, product standards, and market access barriers, aiming to address tariff disparities—India opened 71% of its tariff lines compared to, for example, Indonesia’s 41%, per trade reports.
ASEAN remains a key trade partner for India, accounting for around 11% of India’s global trade. Bilateral trade reached USD 123 billion in 2024–25 —$39 billion in exports and $84.2 billion in imports— highlighting the need to narrow the $45.2 billion trade deficit, which has grown from $7.5 billion when AITIGA began in 2010. It also reflects the strong economic ties between the two sides and creates opportunities for enhanced cooperation in the years ahead. Indian industries have pushed for reforms since 2014, citing unequal concessions and non-tariff barriers favouring ASEAN exporters. Progress has been slow, with nine prior rounds yielding limited results. Past tensions, including Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks calling AITIGA “silly” and ASEAN nations “China’s B-team,” have eased with recent diplomacy, such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s July 2025 meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, aiming to finalise the review by year-end.
While civil society and industry stakeholders were not part of the talks, their calls for a fair agreement protecting Indian businesses while deepening ASEAN ties have grown louder. The New Delhi meetings pave the way for the next Joint Committee meeting on October 6-7, 2025, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, hosted by Malaysia. These talks will test India’s ability to secure a balanced trade pact, strengthening its economic role in the Indo-Pacific.
– global bihari bureau
