India is finalizing 'comprehensive'
amendments to the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation)
Act, 1992 (FTDR) for taking 'safeguard' action to prevent
any sudden surge in imports, thereby protecting the
domestic industry. Among others, these amendments will
seek to impose duties or quantitative restrictions temporarily
under Article XIX of General Agreement on Tariffs and
Tade (GATT) and the Agreement on Safeguards. A Bill
incorporating these modifications recommended by a Parliamentary
committee is expected to be introduced in the coming
session.
Officials explain that the new FTDR Act is getting
ready, though there has been no surge in imports of
300 'sensitive' tariff lines (or items), barring edible
oil, in the past few months, following removal of quantitative
restrictions (QRs).
They also want to drive home the point that the government's
policy has so far been oriented towards protecting the
domestic industry only. "What about consumers who
should also get products of quality at reasonable prices",
commerce ministry officials ask
Further, while imports of edible oil are allowed to
improve domestic supplies and keep prices in check,
those of oilseed are not being allowed under the current
policy. The former will only result in creating jobs
in the supplying countries. On the other hand, the second
measure, if permitted, will not only improve the refining
capacity at home now remaining largely under utilized
but will also lead to more employment at home, officials
opine.
India had been autonomously removing import controls
since 1980s when a fresh list of items was allowed to
be imported under the open general licence (OGL) policy
every year. This process gathered monentum during 1991-96.
QRs on as many as 6,161 tariff lines were removed on
March 31, 1996. Since then, QRs on 1905 tariff lines
or imports were dismantled till the beginning of 1999-00.
Lifting of QRs on another 714 tariff lines from April
1, 2000 and on 715 tariff lines from April 1, 2001 was
part of the on going import liberatlisation, officials
pointed out.
Source: Financial Express, September 25' 2003
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