SAFTA:
The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) has requested the Government to regulate the inflow of edible oils from Nepal and other SAARC countries due to misuse of SAFTA norms.
- SAFTA is the free trade arrangement of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
- The agreement came into force in 2006, succeeding the 1993 SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement.
- SAFTA signatory countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- SAFTA recognizes the need for special and differential treatment for LDCs in its preamble.
- The objectives of this Agreement are to promote and enhance mutual trade and economic cooperation among Contracting States by, inter-alia:
- Eliminating barriers to trade in, and facilitating the cross-border movement of goods between the territories of the Contracting States;
- Promoting conditions of fair competition in the free trade area, and ensuring equitable benefits to all Contracting States, taking into account their respective levels and pattern of economic development;
- Creating effective mechanism for the implementation and application of this Agreement, for its joint administration and for the resolution of disputes; and
- Establishing a framework for further regional cooperation to expand and enhance the mutual benefits of this Agreement.
