India and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) CEPA Unveiled
Ø UAE to Cut Import VAT to 2.5%
from 5% on Indian Exports
Ø UAE to Approve Previous
Registered Pharma within 90 days
Ø Agreement to Enter into force on
1 May 2022
Ø ‘Investopia
Summit’ and ‘World Government Summit’ being held in Dubai on 28th March 2022
and 29th March 2022 respectively
Ø India-UAE CEPA was signed
on 18 February 2022 in New Delhi during the India-UAE Virtual Summit
Ø Trade in Goods, Rules of
Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement
of Natural Persons, Telecom, Customs Procedures, Pharmaceutical products,
Government Procurement, IPR, Investment, Digital Trade and Cooperation in other
Areas
·
Unveiling of Indo- UAE CEPA is Historic day in India UAE ties- Goyal
·
CEPA to Benefit both the Countries in Big Way
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and
Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, Government
of India, today announced the unveiling of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at a press conference
held on 28 March 2022 during his visit to the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Goyal is in UAE to participate in ‘Investopia
Summit’ and ‘World Government Summit’ being held in Dubai on 28th March 2022 and
29th March 2022 respectively. With this launch, the text of the India-UAE CEPA is
now available in public domain.
India-UAE CEPA was signed on 18 February 2022 in
New Delhi during the India-UAE Virtual Summit held between His Excellency Mr. Narendra
Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu
Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the
Executive Council.
The salient features of India-UAE CEPA are as follows:
The India-UAE CEPA is the first deep and full free
trade Agreement to be signed by India with any country in the past decade. The Agreement
is a comprehensive agreement, which will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin,
Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of
Natural Persons, Telecom, Customs Procedures, Pharmaceutical products, Government
Procurement, IPR, Investment, Digital Trade and Cooperation in other Areas.
Impact or benefits:
CEPA provides for an institutional mechanism to
encourage and improve trade between the two countries. The CEPA between India and
the UAE covers almost all the tariff lines dealt in by India (11,908 tariff lines)
and the UAE (7581 tariff lines) respectively. 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. India will also be offering preferential access to the UAE on over
90% of its tariff lines, including lines of export interest to the UAE.
As regards trade 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’.
Both sides have also agreed to a separate Annex
on Pharmaceuticals to facilitate access of Indian pharmaceuticals products, especially
automatic registration and marketing authorisation in 90 days for products meeting
specified criteria.
Timelines:
The negotiations for India-UAE CEPA were concluded
in a record span of 88 days. The Agreement is expected to enter into force on 01
May 2022.
Background:
India and the UAE enjoy excellent bilateral relations,
which are deep rooted and historical, sustained and nurtured by close cultural and
civilizational affinities, frequent high-level political interactions, and vibrant
people to people linkages. The India-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership initiated
during the visit of Prime Minister of India to UAE on 16-17 August 2015, is the
cornerstone of our multi-faceted bilateral relations.
Growing
India-UAE economic and commercial relations contribute to the stability and strength
of a rapidly diversifying and deepening bilateral relationship between the two countries.
India and the UAE have been each other’s leading trading partners. These excellent
bilateral economic and commercial relations have continued to enhance and deepen
over time. From US$ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, India-UAE bilateral trade
has steadily increased to US$ 60 billion (₹4.55 lakh crore) in FY 2019-20
making the UAE, India's third largest trading partner. With exports to the UAE valued
at US$ 29 billion for the year 2019-20, the UAE is also the second largest export
destination of India, while Indian imports from the UAE were valued around US$ 30
billion, including 21.83 MMT (US$ 10.9 billion) of crude oil. The UAE is an important
source of India’s energy supply and a key partner of India in the development of
strategic petroleum reserves, upstream, and downstream petroleum sectors.
The UAE is also the eight largest investor in India
with an estimated investment of US$ 18 billion. Moreover, India and the UAE have
recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
whereby the UAE has committed US$ 75 billion towards infrastructure development
in India. Further, in October 2021, Government of Dubai signed an MoU with the Jammu and Kashmir administration
for real estate development, industrial parks, IT towers, multipurpose towers, logistics,
medical college, super specialty hospital and more.
The India-UAE CEPA will further cement the already
deep, close and strategic relations between the two countries and will create new
employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare
of the peoples of the two countries.
Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the Government of the Republic of
India and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Chapters
Table of
Contents
Preamble
Chapter 1 –
Initial Provisions and General Definitions
Chapter 2 –
Trade in Goods
Annex 2A –
Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India on Trade in Goods
Annex 2B –
Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Trade
in Goods
Chapter 3 –
Rules of Origin
Annex 3A –
Minimum Required Information
Annex 3B –
Product Specific Rules
Annex 3C –
Issuing Authorities of the Government of India
Annex 3D –
Issuing Authorities of the Government of the UAE
Annex 3E –
Format of the Certificate of Origin under the India-UAE Trade Agreement
Chapter 4 –
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Chapter 5 –
Technical Barriers to Trade
Annex 5A –
Bilateral Cooperation on Pharmaceutical Products
Chapter 6 –
Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
Chapter 7 –
Trade Remedies
Chapter 8 –
Trade in Services
Annex 8A –
Schedule of Specific Commitments of India on Trade in Services
Annex 8B –
Schedule of Specific Commitments of United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Trade in
Services
Annex 8C –
Telecommunication Services
Annex 8D –
Movement of Natural Persons Supplying Services
Chapter 9 –
Digital Trade
Chapter 10 –
Government Procurement
Annex 10A –
Schedule of India
Annex 10B –
Schedule of the UAE
Chapter 11 –
Intellectual Property
Chapter 12 –
Investment and Trade
Chapter 13 –
Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
Chapter 14 –
Economic Cooperation
Chapter 15 –
Dispute Settlement
Annex 15A –
Code of Conduct for Panelists
Annex 15B –
Rules of Procedure for the Panel
Chapter 16 –
Exceptions
Chapter 17 –
Administration of the Agreement
Chapter 18 –
Final Provisions
CEPA
Associated Documents
UAE’s Letter
on Energy
India’s
Confirmation on UAE’s Letter on Energy
UAE’s Letter
on TRQs
India’s
Confirmation on UAE’s Letter on TRQs