Pillai calls for lower tariff to increase imports

London, May 23 (UNI) Commerce Secretary G K Pillai today said India is an open economy and cited lowering of import tariffs to increase imports to corroborate his contention at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which began the review of India's trade policy.

The world trade body undertakes such review in respect of all member-countries and India's review is done once in four years by the WTO secretariat in Geneva. The three-day review, which began today, will conclude on Friday.

Quoting WTO's own analysis on India's import tariffs, Mr Pillai said the overall applied most favoured nation (MFN) rate fell from 32.4 per cent in 2001-02 to 15.8 per cent in 2006-07.

''It is not just the lowering of tariffs but the very fact that our imports every year have been higher than our exports show that we are in fact an open economy,'' the Indian official said in his opening statement at the WTO secretariat adding that ''In fact, when I state that Indian exports have grown by more than 20 per cent every year in the last four years and imports by more than 30 per cent every year, I think I have made my case.'' The WTO's secretariat report on trade and policy review of India took several months to prepare and its staff put more than 500 questions to Indian officials to accomplish the task.

Mr Pillai said India has made considerable progress in opening up the capital account, adding Rupee is fully convertible for FIIs.

''For foreign institutional investors we are 100 per cent convertible. Indian firms can take up to 300 per cent of their net worth out of the country for overseas capital investment.'' UNI