'Indian Industry Must Raise Standards To Face Mega-Regionals'


NEW DELHI: Indian industry should focus on improving product standards, manufacturing and service delivery to remain competitive and relevant to the global markets, a senior diplomat said.

At a seminar here on mega regional trade agreements jointly organized by industry chamber FICCI, CUTS International and IPE Global, external affairs ministry secretary (Multilaterals & ER) Sujata Mehta said that the US expediting the finalization of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is bound to impact Indian industry adversely.

According to a FICCI release, Mehta said there was a need for a successful response from India to the TPP agreement so as not to be shut out of the global markets.

She said the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 has addressed the issues of mega-regional and their ramifications on India.

Mega-regionals are a natural progression of the ambitions of major trading players of the world with the capacity to redefine the global trade architecture, Mehta said.

India must recognize the emerging challenges from the mega agreements and be ready to face the reality, she added.

"India needs to urgently look at how it would align with the process that would take place with the execution of TPP and must devise and be ready with its strategic plan in case of trade diversion, which was a most likely occurrence," former revenue secretary Sunil Mitra said.

TPP is expected to come into force by the end of this year. The TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), between them, would represent half of the world's trade.

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Source: IANS