Working towards narrowing the trade deficit of about US $ 37 billion with the neighbouring country, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has put forth an FTA proposal with China. According to FIEO President Rafeeq Ahmed, India will benefit by entering into FTA with China as the wages are increasing in China and companies are shifting their manufacturing bases from China. Setting up of export clusters or parks will help in attracting investment which is shifting from China will help seize the opportunity.
Further, FTA with EU would help in boosting exports of sectors including textiles and leather. India and the EU are negotiating the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) since June 2007. They have however missed numerous deadlines to conclude the talks due to differences among the two sides on the level of opening up of the markets.
