Tourism is a sector that is not often mentioned in connection with China`s economic growth. Taiwan and China recently signed their largest free trade agreement to date, and today we are talking about a “free trade agreement.” (28.10.2010) India is the twelfth country to have signed a free trade agreement with Japan and the largest to date in terms of the economy. Despite the size of their economies, Japan and India had limited trade, which amounted to about $15 billion in 2010, or just one percent of Japan`s world trade. Delhi has free trade agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Sri Lanka and other bilateral agreements with Malaysia and Thailand. It has a broader economic agreement with South Korea. India also expects to sign an agreement with the European Union before the end of the year. The Indian mining industry, fishing and some agricultural products have to lift their tariffs. India will maintain tariffs on vehicles assembled to protect its automotive industry, but will gradually remove barriers to trade in auto parts. After a meeting in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that they would increase bilateral trade by more than 50% over the next two years. (11.12.2010) Japan and India signed a bilateral free trade agreement that would eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of trade for ten years. For India, the pact “would provide a comprehensive framework to promote our economic cooperation for both trade and investment,” Sharma said.
He added: “It will be worth it for India and for Japan.” The companies, which have been awaiting the agreement since the start of negotiations in January 2007, welcome this signing. Tadashi Okamura, president of Japan`s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the agreement would “develop complementary relationships.” With Indonesian President Yudhoyono in India, the two countries have pledged to strengthen their counter-terrorism cooperation by signing an extradition agreement and have announced the opening of free trade negotiations. (25.01.2011) “We expect the Indian market to grow rapidly thereafter,” Okamura said. “Our challenge is how Japanese companies might respond to the increase in demand.” Kirloskar said he hoped for enhanced cooperation in areas such as production infrastructure, green technologies, energy and education. In particular, the agreement would improve access for small businesses and public-private partnerships to infrastructure development projects. The agreement also allows Japanese companies to control shares in Indian companies and create franchises in India. It holds Japanese barriers for rice, wheat and dairy products to protect its own farmers. The deal comes when the world`s largest automaker, Toyota, celebrates the opening of a car factory in a rural area of Japan, which promises to become a new production point.
This is the first opening in Japan for a Toyota plant in 18 years. Japan and India will also continue discussions on removing employment restrictions to allow Japan to work as nurses.