• The Centre has implemented the tariff concessions agreed to under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) by cutting duties on the import of 3,142 items from the signatories to the accord, including China.

• APTA aims to promote economic development through the adoption of mutually beneficial trade liberalization measures that will contribute to intra-regional trade expansion and provides for economic integration through coverage of merchandise goods, services, investment and trade facilitation.

• APTA is a preferential trade agreement, under which the basket of items as well as the extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds that are conducted periodically.

• The results of the fourth round of negotiations under the APTA, among six countries namely, Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka, have been implemented with effect from July 1.

• The fourth round of trade negotiations under the agreement was conducted on January 13, 2017.

• As a founding member of APTA, India is committed to strengthening the APTA process through the concessions.

• The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), previously named the Bangkok Agreement, was signed in 1975 as an initiative of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UN.
• The APTA region covers a market with GDP of $15 trillion and comprises nearly 3 billion people.

• It is considered to be the first pluri-lateral agreement between developing countries; and has longest effective implementation period.

• APTA is also the ONLY operational trade agreement which links India and China.
• Since it is a PTA, the basket of items and extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds from time to time.

The Hindu, ESCAP.