Sri Lanka wants $500 million apparel trade deal with India

Sri Lanka is reportedly hopeful of convincing India to remove the quota system for its apparel industry and instead wants a $500-million trade deal. 

The two sides are at present discussing, under the Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement (ETCA), the existing system that is limited to sale of eight million garment pieces annually worth $30 million.

Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) chairman Felix Fernando told a top newspaper in Colombo that exhaustion of this year’s quota is the reason why Sri Lanka has requested changes to the system.