- Why in news
- On 9 October 2026, India's Commerce Ministry reported the 15th AITIGA Joint Committee meeting, held in Jakarta on 6-9 October 2026, which pushed for faster progress on the agreement's review.
- What it is
- The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) is a free trade pact between India and the ten ASEAN members. It covers trade in goods and has been in force since 2010. India and ASEAN are now reviewing it to update and modernise its terms.
- Venue and dates
- The 15th Joint Committee met at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta, on 6-9 October 2026, in hybrid format.
- Co-chairs
- The meeting was co-chaired by India's Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, and Malaysia's Deputy Secretary General (Trade).
- Sub-committees
- Three of the eight sub-committees met: Legal and Institutional Issues, National Treatment on Market Access, and Rules of Origin.
- Next meeting
- The next Joint Committee meeting is due in January 2027 in India, in hybrid mode.
- Entry into force
- AITIGA was signed in 2009 and came into force on 1 January 2010.
- Participants
- All ten ASEAN members took part: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
- In force
- AITIGA came into force on 1 January 2010 and covers goods only, not services or investment.
Don’t confuse with AITIGA vs ASEAN-India FTA: AITIGA is the goods agreement of 2009. The wider ASEAN-India FTA also includes the services and investment agreements, which came later.
Don’t confuse with AITIGA vs RCEP: RCEP is a separate 15-member pact that India chose not to join in 2019. AITIGA is India's bilateral-with-ASEAN goods pact.
Don’t confuse with AITIGA vs ASEAN-India FTA in services and investment: AITIGA covers goods only. Services and investment are covered by separate agreements signed later.
International bodies and relations: the largest group of news questions in Prelims (61 since 2013), often about background, members and location. In Mains, 27 news-triggered questions, mostly on India's interests.
Why it matters
- A modern AITIGA can improve India's market access in ASEAN, a major trade partner.
- Rules-of-origin reform can curb third-country goods entering India through ASEAN.
- ASEAN is a major trade partner and a core of India's Act East policy.
Problems
- India's trade deficit with ASEAN has widened since the agreement took effect.
- Disputes over rules of origin and tariff concessions have slowed the review.
- India's trade deficit with ASEAN and concerns over rules of origin and re-routing of third-country goods.
Way forward
- Conclude the review with stricter, verifiable rules of origin and safeguards.
- Balance tariff liberalisation with protection for sensitive domestic sectors.
- Conclude the review with tighter rules of origin and better market access for Indian goods.
- 2014Mains GS2 · Q17Impact on India's interests of zero tariffs on IT products under ITAs.
- 2025Mains GS3 · Q2Challenges to India's economy as trade shifts from multilateralism to protectionism.
- 2026Mains GS1 · Q16Examine the shift of global trade centre to Indo-Pacific region.
- 2016Mains GS2 · Q18Evaluate economic and strategic dimensions of India's Look East Policy post Cold War.
- 2010Prelims Q15Which body's affairs involve the phrase 'Special Safeguard Mechanisms' (ASEAN-India FTA option)?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
Prelims practice · Statements
Ours, not from a UPSC paper
Consider the following statements:
- 1.The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) came into force in 2010.
- 2.AITIGA covers trade in both goods and services between India and ASEAN.
- 3.Rules of Origin was one of the sub-committees under the AITIGA Joint Committee that met alongside its 15th meeting in October 2026, along with two other sub-committees.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
True or false?
1 of 11
Statements the way Prelims prints them. Say first, then see the fact.
1.The 15th AITIGA Joint Committee meeting was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
True. The meeting was hosted at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.
2.The meeting was co-chaired by India and Singapore.
False. The co-chair from ASEAN was Malaysia's Deputy Secretary General (Trade).
3.The Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin was among those that met on the sidelines of the Joint Committee.
True. SC-ROO, SC-LII and SC-NTMA met.
4.All eight sub-committees under the AITIGA Joint Committee met during this round.
False. Only three of the eight sub-committees met.
5.The next AITIGA Joint Committee meeting is planned for January 2027 in India.
True. It will be held in India in January 2027, in hybrid mode.
6.AITIGA covers trade in both goods and services between India and ASEAN.
False. AITIGA covers trade in goods only; services and investment are covered by separate agreements.
7.AITIGA came into force in 2010.
True. It entered into force on 1 January 2010.
8.The 13th AITIGA Joint Committee meeting was co-chaired by India and Malaysia.
True. Co-chairs were India's Additional Secretary, Commerce, and Malaysia's Deputy Secretary General (Trade).
9.The AITIGA Joint Committee has five Sub-Committees.
False. It has eight Sub-Committees.
10.AITIGA covers trade in goods as well as services and investment between India and ASEAN.
False. AITIGA covers goods only; services and investment are under separate agreements.
11.ASEAN accounts for around 11 per cent of India's global trade.
True. The release gives about 11 per cent.
Written by us from the release, not by UPSC; checked by a second model.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.