The Hindu Business Line : Indo-Thai FTA: Power cable industry plea to Ministry

Good, bad and ugly
Customs duties would come down in line with the WTO agreements.
Thailand would have an exposure to a larger market in India than Indian cable manufacturers in Thailand.
Any move to remove HS codes from negative list would only aggravate the situation.

New Delhi , June 19

The domestic power cable industry is feeling the heat of the India-Thailand free trade agreement (FTA). It has now made a strong pitch before the Commerce Ministry for retaining the harmonised system (HS) codes relating to the industry in the negative list of the Indo-Thai FTA.

Industry sources said that the power cable industry has through Assocham, sent a communiqué to the Ministry requesting the retention of its HS codes in the negative list.

The domestic industry is understood to have expressed "serious concern" over the repercussions that the Indo-Thai FTA would have on the domestic power cable industry.

More time needed

Even while acknowledging that the country's customs duties would come down in the coming years in line with the WTO agreements, the domestic power cable industry has said that a "gestation period" was required to develop its resources for a smooth transition towards acquiring a better competitive edge.

Stating that the power cables industry was already facing fierce competition from Thailand, the domestic industry has highlighted that Thailand had a strong manufacturing base in power cables.

Serious concern

It has submitted that any move to remove the HS codes (on copper wires, PVC wires) from the negative list would only aggravate the situation.

It has also been highlighted that Thailand would have an exposure to a larger market in India than Indian cable manufacturers in Thailand.

The domestic power cable industry has submitted that any decision on industry-specific delisting of HS codes from the negative list should be arrived at after a thorough examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the FTA countries in terms of their manufacturing infrastructure, the rule of origin that is related to raw materials used for the manufacture of the exportable goods and the market size of the member countries.

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