ASEAN, India push to finish outstanding chapters of trade goods pact review

The Joint Committee overseeing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) Review has directed its Sub-Committees to expedite finalisation of outstanding chapters, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, following the 13th Joint Committee meeting held on 7 July 2026 at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi. The broader round of meetings ran from 6 to 10 July 2026 in a hybrid format.

Three of the AITIGA Joint Committee’s eight Sub-Committees met on the sidelines of the main session: the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, the Sub-Committee on National Treatment and Market Access, and the Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin. The Joint Committee provided strategic guidance in each area and assigned time-bound deliverables to keep negotiations on track.

The 13th Joint Committee meeting was co-chaired by Shri Nitin Kumar Yadav, Additional Secretary in India’s Department of Commerce, and Ms. Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Deputy Secretary General (Trade) at Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. Delegations from all ten ASEAN member states — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — participated.

The ministry said the meetings served as a platform to deepen cooperation, strengthen mutual understanding and advance constructive dialogue between India and ASEAN on trade matters.

ASEAN remains one of India’s key trading partners, accounting for around 11 per cent of India’s global trade, with bilateral trade between the two reaching $128 billion in 2025-26, the ministry said.