Assessing India’s Post-Pandemic Outlook on Global Engagements with Reference to ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA)

Purpose of Study - The paper aims to study the negotiation involved in the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA), against the backdrop of a rising economic nationalism in the world and also the subsequent impacts faced by India.Design, Methodology & Approach - Secondary data collection method has been used to analyze the relationship between ASEAN and India. The paper is constructed based on several scholarly journals, articles, journalist opinions and commentaries on the subject matter which makes it a review based research with a descriptive outlook.Main Findings - The findings specify impacts in the areas of tariff reduction commitment, trade deficit, labor-intensive and natural resource-intensive sectors that India had faced in some aspects of the negotiation. This eventually led to withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It was found that the ASEAN countries will possibly refrain from doing trade with China due to the coronavirus outbreak and concerns about national security, hence allowing India to exploit the ASEAN market. A conceptual framework is proposed using five variables.Conclusion/Improvements - It is concluded that India must search at trade complementarities and enforcement costs in negotiating bilateral FTAs with countries. Though India should opt for capturing key Asian markets with significant support from the West and aim for more global integrations to boost supply chains for the most pandemic affected industries, this fact cannot be denied that India will adopt a tougher stance in global engagements, considering its withdrawal from RCEP.Originality/Value - The paper introduces a framework to arrive at a conclusion about India’s opportunities in the international market