UAE to examine India’s concerns on import surge of silver, platinum alloy

New Delhi: India has raised its concerns over jump in imports of silver products, platinum alloy, and dry dates from the UAE and urged the country to ensure that the rules are not circumvented under the free trade agreement (FTA), an official statement said on Tuesday.

The UAE has agreed to examine the concerns raised by the India, the commerce ministry said. Following significant increase in imports, India sought review of certain provisions of the FTA with the UAE that came into force on May 1, 2022.

The concerns were raised during the second meeting of the joint committee (JC) under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in the UAE on October 14. The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Ajay Bhadoo and Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy of the UAE, Juma Al Kait co-chaired from the UAE side.

“Indian side raised the issue related to the recent surge in imports of silver products, platinum alloy and dry dates and urged UAE to verify compliance to the rules of origin norms and ensure that the rules are not circumvented,” the ministry said.

The UAE is the third-largest trading partner of India with $83.65 billion bilateral trade in 2023-24. Seeking an urgent review of the pact, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) has said the India-UAE CEPA allows unlimited imports of gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds from the UAE into India with zero tariffs in the coming years.

GTRI has claimed that many imports do not meet Rules of Origin conditions and, hence, do not qualify for concessions.

India’s gold and silver imports from UAE have skyrocketed 210 per cent to $10.7 billion in 2023-24.