Sources inform ''Globes'' that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor has asked the Indian government to review a free-trade agreement with Israel that will encompass both goods and services. The Indian government has set up a team of experts to conduct the review.
Ministry of Industry Foreign Trade Administration director Boaz Hirsch told "Globes", "As a small country, we must build infrastructure for the next ten years, during which India is expected to become even more important.
Israel is due to sign a free-trade agreement with Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur) (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). The Mercosur trade bloc has an aggregate GDP of $1.2 billion and a population of 240 million. The Ministry of Industry predicts that the agreement will greatly boost bilateral trade above the current $1.1 billion.
The ministry is also examining whether a free-trade agreement with Russia is worthwhile.
Israel is a pioneer in free-trade agreements. It was the first country to have a free-trade agreement with both the US and the EU, and also has an agreement with Mexico. The agreement with Mercosur will be the bloc's first agreement outside South America.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 16, 2007
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