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India should be cautious on labour provisions in FTA negotiations: Experts

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  • India needs to follow a cautious approach while negotiating labour provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) as those could have potential repercussions on domestic manufacturing and overall trade competitiveness, experts say.
  • International trade experts claimed that in a significant shift from its longstanding stance, India has begun to engage on labour issues in its trade negotiations with the UK, European Union, and the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).
  • Inclusion of these issues in trade pacts could have negative impacts, they said, adding that the recent US presidential memorandum of Joe Biden on worker rights indicates a deepening focus on labour standards in trade deals.
  • Negotiations are on fast track with a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK, which seeks to promote trade in goods, services and two-way investments.
    Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Ajay Srivastava said that such provisions could erode the competitive advantage of developing countries by inflating manufacturing costs.
  • Citing an example, he said that the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, which mandates a minimum wage in Mexico’s auto sector, potentially diminishes its competitiveness.
  • Sharing similar views, trade expert and former government official Sangeeta Godbole also expressed reservations about labour clauses in trade deals.
    She was involved in the negotiations of the India-EU trade agreement.
  • “Even non-binding labour provisions in the EU-South Korea FTA led to a dispute adversely impacting South Korea’s auto industry, cautioning against complacency in negotiations,” Godbole said.
  • International trade expert Abhijit Das said that labour provisions in trade agreements often seek enforcement of domestic laws and can lead to punitive actions for non-compliance.
  • He noted that the labour clauses in the recent supply chain resilience agreement under IPEF as a potential gateway for increased scrutiny and a pressure point for the imposition of import restrictions in future based on alleged labour law violations.
  • “India must tread carefully in negotiating labour provisions in trade agreements, mindful of the potential repercussions on its manufacturing sector and overall trade competitiveness,” the experts said.

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