Introduction

World Trade Organisation (WTO), Free Trade Agreements (FTA) and Foreign Trade Division has been working in the area of international trade and trade policy. The Division is actively involved in supporting the Government towards making effective strategies for WTO/FTA negotiations, and capacity building of Indian business on trade-related issues; dissemination of information & creating greater awareness among the stakeholders; increasing their role and participation in trade policy making.

Over the years, CCI’s stand has been reflected in Indian Government’s position at multilateral and various bilateral negotiations. CCI has been part of Joint Task Forces of several major FTAs (concluded or under negotiation), and actively participated in several Ministerial Conferences of the WTO.

The Foreign Trade Committee regularly interfaces with and submits proposals to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for necessary changes in the Foreign Trade Policy to simplify export-import procedures and bring about flexibility in various export promotion schemes. The recommendations help the Government in developing schemes and initiatives that are better suited for higher growth in India’s foreign trade, diversification of the trade basket, identifying new markets and generating more employment. Most of the suggestions given by CCI get incorporated in modifications of the Foreign Trade Policy and its annual supplements.

The division has been organizing various sensitization workshops on issues related to WTO agreements & negotiations for industry representatives and also for Government officials. It also holds stakeholder consultations across the country for seeking inputs on WTO/FTA negotiations, and export-related issues. The division has been working closely with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India; State Governments; and a large number of think tanks, institutions and inter-governmental organizations.

The division also comes out with studies, surveys and occasional papers on trade-related issues and state-of-play of negotiations at the multilateral and bilateral levels.