India will fast track trade deals with six nations: Commerce Secretary

India has to engage with the rest of the world; will otherwise be shut from global markets

India will fastrack free trade agreements (FTA) with at least half a dozen nations, including UAE, UK, Australia, Canada, EU, over the next  few months, in line with its revamped foreign trade strategy, commerce and industry secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said on Wednesday.

“We have actually revamped our FTA strategy. India has to engage with the rest of the world. Without that India will be shut out from global markets...World has moved into bilateral or local/regional arrangements,” he said, adding that such trade deals assume more significance now as India is not a part of any local or regional regional arrangement.

India walked away from the China-backed Asian trade bloc Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that signed an agreement last year to create the world's biggest free trade bloc. India had then said that its concerns related to the issue of market access were not adequately addressed.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual session, the commerce secretary said that  currently, about 20 FTAs are under negotiation. “We are fastracking six of them and putting the rest slightly on the backburner. Earliest FTA that we will probably strike will be with the UAE. These are economies with complete complementarities. they cannot threaten you with,” Subramanyam said.

India is likely to kick start formal negotiations for FTAs with the UK and EU by the end of 2021, soon after the preparatory work is completed.

Unlike India’s past experience, all FTAs will be looked at carefully so that there are adequate gains for the country. “If India wants to be a global trading power, it needs to have FTAs and do it in a balanced manner, which allows us to be a player. The gains have to be balanced,” he added.