Leather excluded from trade deal
2 August 2011A comprehensive economic partnership between India and Japan came into effect on August 1, aiming to grant greater access to each other's markets and to more than double bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2014.
Tokyo has scrapped with immediate effect import taxes on 87% of the goods that it sources from India, while New Delhi has dropped tariffs on 17.4% of what it imports from Japan.
The annual bilateral trade between India and Japan is currently worth $12.6 billion.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which was signed on February 16, is India's first with any developed economy that seeks to eventually abolish 94% of bilateral tariffs in 10 years’ time.
An Indian government statement August 1, said Japan has eliminated almost all tariffs on industrial products immediately. These include seafood, some agricultural products, most spirits, textile products, petrochemical and chemical products, cement and jewellery.
However, Tokyo will not offer any concessions on items such as rice, wheat, oil, milk, sugar and leather and leather products.
India has kept auto parts, agricultural and some other items out of the tariff easing program.
