India has agreed to offer tariff concessions on at least 3,142 products to Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) member countries, which include Bangladesh, China, Laos, South Korea and Sri Lanka, said a statement issued by India’s Commerce Ministry.

The tariff concessions, the statement said, would be more for less developed countries (LDC) and less for developing countries. APTA is an initiative under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UN ESCAP) for trade expansion through exchange of tariff concessions among member countries of Asia Pacific region.

The statement added that the results of the fourth round of negotiations under the APTA have come into force from July 1. “India has exchanged tariff concessions on 3,142 goods with all member-countries and special concessions on 48 tariff goods for least developed countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh and Laos,” said the statement.

The fourth round of talks was held by the ministers of member countries on January 13 last year. With the implementation of the decision, the coverage of preferences of total tariff goods for each member-country would come on 10,677 products, up from 4,270 items at the conclusion of the third round of talks.