News: According to a recent WTO report, India is now a top developing economy partner for Least Developed Countries, offering more extensive duty-free market access than China or the EU.
About Duty‑Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme
- India launched the DFTP Scheme in 2008.
- Objective: To provide preferential market access to Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
- The decision was prompted by the outcome of the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration (December 2005).
- Under the scheme, India became the first developing country to introduce a preferential tariff programme for LDCs.
- Key Features
- Duty-Free Access to Indian Market: India provides duty-free access for products originating from LDCs, covering approximately 98.2 % of tariff lines; only about 1.8 % of product categories face regular duties.
- The scheme applies to exports from eligible LDCs to the Indian market.
- Eligible Countries: The scheme applies to all nations designated as Least Developed Countries by the United Nations. India extends this preferential market access to approximately 48 such countries spanning Africa, Asia, and the Pacific regions.
- Eligible Products: These include agricultural products, textiles and garments, handicrafts and traditional goods, leather goods and minerals and metals.
- Technical assistance and training are offered to LDCs to help improve export quality and standards.
- LDCs under the scheme benefit from increased market access, export growth, and potential foreign investment.
- Benefits to LDCs through this scheme:
- Export opportunities: Duty-free access helps LDCs increase export volumes to India and thereby raise trade revenues.
- Economic growth: With enhanced exports, LDCs may generate employment, raise incomes and support poverty reduction.
- Diversification: The scheme encourages LDCs to broaden their export base and develop comparative advantages across sectors.
- Technology and capacity-building: Technical assistance under the scheme helps LDC exporters improve product quality, increasing competitiveness.
