Regional trade agreements: comprehensive economic partnership agreement BETWEEN INDIA AND the united arab emirates (GOODS)

Note on the meeting of 16 July 2024

Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Ram Prasad Subedi (Nepal)

1.  The 23^rd Dedicated Session on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) was convened in document WTO/AIR/COMTD/RTA/18/Rev.1 of 5 July 2024. Under item 3 of the agenda, the Committee considered the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Between India and the United Arab Emirates (Goods) (_WT/COMTD/RTA24/N/1, _WT/COMTD/RTA24/1, _WT/COMTD/RTA24/2). The present document contains the minutes relating to the consideration of this agreement.[1]

2.  The Chairperson said that the present agenda item would consider the goods aspects of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates, which were notified under paragraph 4(a) of the Enabling Clause by the parties on 22 September 2022 in document _WT/COMTD/RTA24/N/1. The services aspects of the agreement were notified under Article V:7(a) of the GATS on the same date in document _S/C/N/1110. The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements undertook its consideration of the services aspects of the agreement at its meeting of 2 July 2024. The factual presentation on the agreement, contained in _WT/COMTD/RTA24/1, was prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility and in full consultation with the parties. Written questions from delegations on the agreement, as well the written replies received from the parties, were circulated with the CTD symbol _WT/COMTD/RTA24/2.

3.  The representative of India delivered the following statement:

4.   Thank you Chair. First, we thank the Secretariat for making a comprehensive factual presentation. The India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership is the cornerstone of our multifaceted bilateral relations. At present, the UAE is India's third-largest trading partner and second largest export destination. The merchandise trade between the two countries stands at about USD 86 billion in 2023-24. In the context of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the UAE is the ninth‑largest investor in India. Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has been the growth engine for India-UAE bilateral trade. India-UAE CEPA was signed on 18 February 2022. The agreement entered into force from 1 May 2022. The India-UAE CEPA is a comprehensive agreement, which covers trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, dispute settlement, movement of natural persons, telecom, customs procedures, pharmaceutical products, government procurement, intellectual property rights, investment, digital trade and cooperation, among other areas. About the impact or benefits of India-UAE CEPA implementation, during the first meeting of the Joint Committee of the India-UAE CEPA, both sides agreed to set a target of USD 100 billion in trade in non-petroleum products by 2030. The bilateral trade between India and the UAE has touched historic highs during FY 2022-23. Trade has increased from USD 72.9 billion (April 21-March 2022) to USD 84.5 billion (April 22-March 2023) registering a year-on-year increase of 16%. During the CEPA implementation period (from May 22 to March 2023), bilateral trade increased from USD 67.5 billion (May 21-March 2022) to USD 76.9 billion (May 22-March 2023) – an annual increase of 14%. During the CEPA Implementation period (May 22–March 2023), India's exports to the UAE increased from 26.2 billion (May 21–March 2022) to 28.5 billion (May 22–March 2023), a 8.5% y-o-y growth. During the same period, India's global exports, excluding the UAE, grew at 3.1%. India's imports from the UAE have grown to USD 53.2 billion (an annual increase of 18.8%) during April 2022 to March 2023. Non-oil imports during the same period grew by 4.1%. India's exports to the UAE increased from USD 31.61 billion in 2022-23 to USD 35.62 billion in 2023-24, marking an increase of 12.69%. Prior to CEPA, the average exports were USD 26.36 billion from 2017 to 2022. In the post-CEPA period, exports reached USD 31.61 billion in the fiscal year 2023 and USD 35.62 billion in the fiscal year 2024, reflecting a 12.69% growth from fiscal year 2023.

5.  In the Services Domain, broader and deeper commitments have been taken across all the sectors and modes of supply. Out of the 160 services subsectors, India has offered 100 sub-sectors to the UAE and the UAE has offered 111 sub-sectors to India. Some of the key sectors, including labour‑intensive sectors, that have witnessed significant export growth on account of the CEPA include mineral fuels, electrical machinery (particularly telephone equipment), gems & jewellery, automobiles (transport vehicles segment), essential oils/perfumes/cosmetics (beauty/skin care products), cereals, rice, coffee/tea/spices, other agri-products, and chemical products. Utilisation of the India-UAE CEPA has been increasing steadily on a month-on-month basis. Number of Preferential Certificates of Origin (COOs) issued under the CEPA increased from 415 in May 2022 to 8440 in March 2023. Over 54,000 COOs were issued under the CEPA during the 11-month (May 22‑March 2023) period. Under the India-UAE CEPA in the goods domain, the UAE eliminated duties on 97.4% of its tariff lines corresponding to 99% of imports from India. India has obtained immediate duty elimination on over 80% of its tariff lines corresponding to 90% of India's exports in value terms. Most of these tariff lines correspond to the labour-intensive industries/sectors such as oil seeds and oils, beverages, cotton, fish and fish products, textiles, clothing, gems and jewellery, leather, footwear, pharmaceuticals and many engineering products. The CEPA is also characterized by strong institutional mechanisms in the form of Joint Trade Committee and the various Sub‑Committees. The UAE–India CEPA is yet another testimony of convergence of economic interests of both our countries that will have a spillover effect on each aspect of our ever-growing relations. We would like to thank Members for their interest in the India-UAE CEPA, particularly Canada, the EU, Türkiye, and the UK, for asking questions which has helped us to explain the provisions of this agreement further. Our replies to these questions are contained in the document _WT/COMTD/RTA24/2. We would be happy to clarify any further detail.

6.  The representative of United Arab Emirates delivered the following statement:

7.  We would first like to thank the WTO Secretariat for their kind assistance they provided us with before and during the process of consideration of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the UAE. At this juncture, we would like to thank the Indian delegation and we associate ourselves with the statement he just made. We also would like to seize this opportunity to thank the delegations who put questions to the UAE. And as our distinguished delegate from India has just mentioned, the replies have been submitted. And we have already indicated that we would submit the answers in writing to the delegations who have put these questions, namely Canada, the EU, Türkiye, and the UK, among others. If other delegations wish to ask further questions, we will also reply to those questions.

8.  The representative of European Union delivered the following statement:

9.  The European Union would just like to thank the Secretariat and the colleagues from India and the United Arab Emirates for their extensive work, and for acknowledging our questions.

10.  The Chairperson concluded the discussion on the CTD, on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates, in accordance with the paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechanism. In line with the usual practice, if any delegations wished to ask follow-up questions, they were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat within one week, that is, by Tuesday, 23 July 2024. The parties would be given two weeks after that to submit written replies. They were, therefore, requested to submit replies in writing by no later than Tuesday, 6 August 2024.

11.  The Committee took note of all interventions.

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