FTA worries white goods firms

especially RCEP.”

India has signed FTAs with several countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and ASEAN.

Under an FTA, each country is required to gradually reduce and eventually eliminate tariff rates on the other country’s goods, which also include electronic goods as per a pre- decided timeline for implementation.

According to Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association ( CEAMA), the ACE sector has witnessed a flat growth in the first half of the ongoing fiscal on account of devaluation of Indian rupee and other factors.

The report said: “FTAs signed by India are with production- driven economies resulting in finished products from these countries being imported into India at a cost lower than what it would have cost to manufacture the same products in India.”

“This factor combined with the fact that in most cases, components of the finished products are subject to import duties at rates higher than the duties applicable on finished products, the FTA has contributed to the decline of the manufacturing of products in India.”

The report also suggested to provide subsidies to locally made products to help them compete with fully finished goods imported at zero duty under the current FTA agreement.

India should focus on signing FTAs with consumption driven economies to promote export and focus on Make in India’ for the world, the report said.

It suggested to treat the entire consumer electronics segment as a single category under GST to ensure uniformity in GST and provide incentives in the form of subsidies to consumers.