India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started discussions in New Delhi on Monday for the 13th round to review and upgrade their existing free trade agreement, as New Delhi wants to reverse the one-sided deal made during the UPA regime about a quarter century ago, people aware of the matter said.
India is concerned about its growing trade deficit with ASEAN, as some non-ASEAN countries like China are using this free trade agreement to dump their goods, they said, requesting anonymity. Citing historical India-ASEAN trade data compiled by the ministry of external affairs, they said India’s trade deficit with the 10-member bloc surged to a whopping $45.20 billion by 2024-25 from a mere $4.98 billion in 2010-11, which is alarming.
The Modi government has been pushing for a thorough review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it balanced and curb its misuse by third countries like China, they said. AITIGA was signed on August 13, 2009 and came into force on January 1, 2010 for India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. By August 1, 2011, all ASEAN members became signatories, and the FTA was fully operationalised. The 10 Asean members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
India’s exports to Asean countries during 2025-26 were about $38.96 billion while Imports from the 10-member bloc were $84.14 billion, leaving a deficit of $45.2 billion, according to official data. India showed significant trade deficits with five Asean members in FY25.
India’s trade deficit was highest with Indonesia at $17.4 billion in 2024-25, followed by Thailand ($9.45 billion), Singapore ($8.31 billion), Malaysia ($5.22 billion), Vietnam ($4.9 billion), Myanmar ($0.92 billion) and Brunei ($70 million). It, however, had an insignificant trade surplus with Cambodia ($103.5 million), Laos ($0.89 million), and the Philippines ($983.53 million), according to official data.
After the Modi government came to power in 2014, it realized that certain trade agreements signed previously were largely one-sided and weak on rules of origin (ROO), allowing backdoor entry of products from a third country like China, the people mentioned above said.
AITIGA was signed during the UPA regime by the then commerce minister Anand Sharma in 2009. It became a sore point between India and the 10-member ASEAN bloc due to its misuse in dumping cheaper goods from third countries, mainly China, they said.
The FTA deal was lopsided from the beginning. For example, Singapore offered 100% tariff elimination under the FTA even though it was already a zero-duty country.
Therefore, India received no additional benefit from Singapore under the deal, they said. That is why India is reviewing terms and both sides are willing to widen cooperation in a more balanced and equitable manner, they added.
All 12 rounds of talks between India and Asean to review AITIGA have been cordial and positive, they said.
The 12th round took place on March 30, 2026 at the ASEAN Secretariat headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia.
