15 august 2024 : As Silver imports continued to surge from the UAE amid a suspected breach in rules of origin norms, India is seeking a review of certain provisions in the India-UAE trade deal signed in 2022, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday.
Trade data released on Wednesday also showed that silver imports, largely coming from the UAE, surged 439 per cent to $165.74 million in July compared to $30.74 million during the comparable period last year. The UAE is the third largest trading partner of India with $83.65 billion bilateral trade in 2023-24.
“As regards Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) , there are two things – one is the value addition norms and the second is reduction (of customs duties). So we are in discussion with them and there are various issues which are discussed under the CEPA review. So, I think we are seeking a review with them and once we get it, then we will look at all the issues holistically,” Barthwal said in response to a question on rising silver imports
“When you ( a country) give a concessional rate (of duty), there is a condition of meeting rules of origin. So when we do review, we look at all the aspects of it…whether the rules of origin are met or not and what is the future course of action that we will do,” Barthwal said.
Seeking an urgent review of the pact, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has stated that the India-UAE CEPA allows unlimited imports of gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds from the UAE into India with zero tariffs in the coming years.
This will lead to significant annual revenue losses, move import business from banks to a few private traders, and replace top suppliers with Dubai-based firms, the GTRI report has said.
It highlighted that currently, gold can be imported from Dubai at 5 per cent duty, but this will drop to zero in three years if the alloy contains 2 per cent platinum. GTRI has also claimed that many imports do not meet Rules of Origin conditions and, hence, do not qualify for concessions.