PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · South Asia: Regionalism, SAARC & BIMSTEC
What are the impediments in the development of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)?
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
NTBs untouched, focus on tariffs alone — trade costs 114% of export value, Brazil cheaper than neighbours — similar agricultural baskets, competitors not partners — India—EU 2026 sharpens the contest for outside markets — political discretion overrides the text: May 2025 prohibition on Pakistani goods, SAARC visa exemption withdrawn, India- Bangladesh port restrictions – Wignaraja: secretariats coordinate and monitor, no delegated authority
Body flow
informal trade across porous frontiers (UNESCAP) → official data understate actual exchange = the constraint is the agreement's remit, not the region's appetite
Counter-view
arapeiyme =! SAFTA failed on what it was never allowed to govern R2 Arise §6tariff cuts cannot move the 5% until NTBs, transit and enforcement enter its remit
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
