THE IMPACTS OF INDIA-SINGAPORE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT (CECA) IN ENHANCING INDIA-SINGAPORE BILATERAL TRADE (2005 - 2008)

Abstract

India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is an economic pact between India and Singapore which was signed on June 19, 2005. India-Singapore CECA consists of a free trade area on trade in goods and services, bilateral agreement on investment, protection and cooperation, as well as an improvement in double taxation avoidance agreement. In this regard, the India-Singapore CECA is the first type of trade agreement signed by India and then becomes a new model for Indian economic agreements whether in bilateral or regional terms. For Singapore, this is the first economic agreement with South Asian countries. With the signing of this CECA, the tariff barriers on various trade in goods between India and Singapore will be eliminated or substantially reduced. In the area of investment, investors and service providers will get the national treatment where they will be treated as domestic investors and service providers in each country. The impact of eliminating the tariff barriers and the national treatment is the improvement of their relationship which became closer. For India, having a good relations with Singapore will pave the way for good relations with Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The increase also occurred in the trade rate between the two. Thus, it is believed that India-Singapore CECA greatly affects India's political economy situation as well as on Indian and Singapore trade relations. The objective of this research is to analyze the impacts of India-Singapore CECA on enhancing India-Singapore bilateral trade on India's perspective. The analysis based on the role of CECA in improving the relations between India and Singapore and increasing their trade.