Historic UAE-India trade deal effective from May 1: Minister

India and UAE's historic economic pact will come into force from May 1, 2022, a UAE minister announced on Thursday morning.

UAE'S Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi, took to Twitter today to reveal that India and UAE'S Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will come into effect on May 1.

'Are you ready for a new era of opportunity? #IndiaUAECEPA comes into effect on May 1, reducing tariffs, removing barriers to trade to helping our exporters access the world’s sixth-largest economy. See our website for all the details you need'

Earlier this year, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry had published details of the agreement between India and the UAE.

The Ministry of Economy has launched a new webpage for the CEPA following the announcement.

The e-platform provides UAE companies and investors, who wish to capitalise on the benefits provided by the Agreement, with access to all information related to the historic agreement, which has ushered in a new era of economic and trade cooperation between the two friendly countries.

Juma Al Kait, Assistant Under-Secretary of International Trade Affairs, commented, "The webpage provides all the necessary resources and relevant information to private sector stakeholders and companies in the UAE who are interested in enhancing their businesses and investment in India. It also gives them an overview of this historic agreement's trade and investment opportunities and features."

"This comprehensive knowledge base enhances the access of exporters, suppliers, investors, entrepreneurs, innovators, and talents to new opportunities under the scope of this Agreement, thereby strengthening their ability to develop specific expansion strategies focused on the Indian market," he added.

The portal provides detailed information on all 18 chapters of the CEPA and lists simple steps that companies in the UAE can adopt to forge or expand their business relationship with the Indian market.

It also provides comprehensive and clear details for each sector, including tariff structures, rules of origin, differential treatment, customs procedures, digital trade, and SMEs, which will help entrepreneurs identify the rules and tariffs applicable to their businesses and product as well as the certificates that must be obtained to enter the Indian market under the new regulations.

Those interested in the platform's services can access it here.

The launch of this webpage is part of the ministry's plan to operationalise the UAE-India CEPA, to provide the private sector with the tools, knowledge, and information it needs to deepen trade relations with India, which is the world's fifth-largest economy.

This deal will help increase the volume of UAE-India non-oil trade to $100 billion a year within the next five years.

A team of experts have also been appointed to respond to private sector and investor inquiries about CEPA and clarify its clauses and inform companies of several trade remedies contained in the Agreement.

(with inputs from WAM and Reuters)