ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement Review: Next Round in January 2027
India and the ten-plus members of ASEAN held the 15th meeting of the AITIGA Joint Committee in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 6 to 9 October 2026. The Joint Committee is the body reviewing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) of 2009.
Both sides agreed that the next round of review talks will be held in India in January 2027.
The Joint Committee asked its sub-committees to finish the pending chapters and work to firm, time-bound deadlines before that round.
ASEAN accounts for about 11% of India's global trade. India's trade deficit with ASEAN (imports minus exports) was reported at about $51.6 billion in 2025-26.
India wants stronger rules of origin, so that goods from third countries cannot be routed through ASEAN to enter India at low duty. ASEAN wants better access to the Indian market and smoother customs procedures.
ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA)
The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, or AITIGA, is a trade deal between India and the countries of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Under it, both sides cut or remove the import taxes, called tariffs, on most goods they buy from each other. It was signed in 2009 and is the "goods" part of the wider ASEAN-India Free Trade Area. Since 2023, both sides have been reviewing it to update it.
The Jakarta meeting is the 15th round of the AITIGA review. Setting firm deadlines for the sub-committees and fixing the next round for January 2027 in India shows both sides want to finish the long-delayed update. For India, the key test will be tighter rules of origin and better market access to narrow the large trade deficit.
ASEAN: Structure, Membership, and Functioning
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a regional group of 11 countries in Southeast Asia. Its members work together on trade, security, culture and development. It has no single ruler or parliament above its members; it works through regular meetings and agreement among all of them. For India, ASEAN is the centre of its "Act East" policy.
ASEAN negotiates AITIGA as one group, so all its members must agree on the review's outcome. This is why progress is slow, and why the Joint Committee keeps pushing sub-committees for firm deadlines. The review is also a test of the 2022 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, where both sides promised closer economic ties.
Rules of Origin (RoO)
Rules of origin are the tests used to decide which country a product "comes from". They matter in every free trade agreement, because only goods that truly originate in a member country should get the lower tariff. Without them, a non-member could send its goods through a member country and avoid duties.
Rules of origin are one of the hardest chapters in the review. India sees weak origin checks as a key reason for its widening trade deficit with ASEAN.
- 15th AITIGA Joint Committee meeting: Jakarta, 6 to 9 October 2026
- Next round: January 2027, hosted by India
- ASEAN share of India's global trade: about 11%
- India's trade deficit with ASEAN: about $51.6 billion (2025-26, as reported)
- AITIGA signed 13 August 2009 (Bangkok); in force 1 January 2010
- Review started May 2023; formal negotiations launched February 2024 (New Delhi)
- ASEAN: 11 members since Timor-Leste joined on 26 October 2025; Secretariat in Jakarta
- India-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: 12 November 2022