India, UAE CEPA to come into force on May 1

Officials of the commerce and industry ministry will flag off the first consignment of goods from India to UAE under the pact on Sunday.

The CEPA is likely to benefit about $26 billion worth of Indian products that are currently subjected to 5% import duty by the UAE, India’s third-biggest trading partner behind the US and China.

India will benefit from preferential market access provided by the UAE on over 97 % of its tariff lines which account for 99% of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms, especially for all labour-intensive sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering products, medical devices, and Automobiles.

New Delhi will offer preferential access to the UAE on over 90% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to the UAE.

India and the UAE on February 18 had signed the CEPA with a view to boost bilateral trade to $100 billion over five-years from $60 billion now.

The bilateral trade pact is India’s first in the region and the first comprehensive trade agreement with any country in a decade.

In services, India has offered market access to the UAE in around 100 sub-sectors, while Indian service providers will have access to around 111 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors such as ‘business services’, ‘communication services’, ‘construction and related engineering services’, ‘distribution services’, ‘educational services’, ‘environmental services’, ‘financial services’, ‘health related and social services’, ‘tourism and travel related services’, ‘recreational cultural and sporting services’ and ‘transport services’.