The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2009

Highlights of the Bill

• The Bill amends the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, which empowers the government to regulate trade in goods.

• It extends the ambit of the Act to cover services and technology.

• It brings all licences for trade in services, goods and technology under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Act.

• The Bill provides for the imposition of Quantitative Restrictions on imports which cause serious injury to domestic industry.

• The Bill provides for controls on the trade of specified goods, services or technology which could be used in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems (such as missiles). 

Key Issues and Analysis

• The Bill does away with all licensing requirements for cross border trade in services, except as provided for under the Act.  This leaves unclear the status of other regulators who may have their own licensing requirements for cross border trade in such services.

• Traders in specified goods and technologies could have their licences cancelled without being given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.  Though they must be given such an opportunity within six months, this provision may create uncertainty for exporters of these materials.