India-ASEAN Trade in Intermediates and Final Products: A Study of Selected Sectors

The architecture of international trade is increasingly changing towards trade in value added from trade in final products. In this light, studying the differential trends of exports and imports of intermediates and final products between trading nations becomes important. This paper attempts to study the pattern of trade between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (a vibrant region trading through value chains), and investigates the effects of India's functional Free Trade agreements (FTAs) in the region with ASEAN, Singapore and Malaysia-segmented by intermediates and final products. Our analysis is further focused on five sectors which are significant in India's trade basket and stand out in terms of organising production into value chains spanning across countries, primarily from the ASEAN region. These are: fishing, textiles and wearing apparel, transport equipment, recycling and financial intermediation & business services. We find and present evidence to show increased trade of intermediates between India and ASEAN countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Viet Nam. The trade expansion effects have been far stronger for intermediates trade implying India's greater participation in the regional value chains. However, India's exports for final demand are yet to see significant increases.