India, Peru to hold next round of FTA negotiations in August

India and Peru will hold their next round of negotiations for proposed free-trade agreement (FTA), aimed at boosting two-way commerce and investments, here in August, an official said.

"Chief negotiators from both the countries will hold the fifth round of negotiations for the agreement in August," the official said.

In an FTA, two trading partners significantly reduce or eliminate duties on most of the goods traded between them besides relaxing norms and rules to promote trade in services and increase bilateral investments.

In the fourth round of talks, senior officials of both the sides deliberated upon issues such as customs procedures, trade facilitation, market access for goods and movement of professionals.

The fourth round was held between March 11 and 15 this year in Lima, Peru.

The main chapters of the agreement include trade in services, movement of professionals, investments, dispute settlement, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, rules of origin of goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation.

With growing uncertainties in its traditional markets, including the US and Europe, India is looking to enhance engagements with other regions such as Africa, South America and Central Asia.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said Peru holds enormous opportunities for domestic exports.

"South America has huge trade potential. The agreement would help boost exports between the two countries," FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said.

Peru ranked third among export destinations for India in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.

The bilateral trade between the nations increased to USD 3.13 billion in 2017-18 from USD 1.77 billion in the previous fiscal.

Among the top-10 commodities that India exports to Peru are motor vehicles, cars, auto components, tyres, dyes, products of iron and steel, cotton yarn and fabrics. While the imports include bulk minerals and ores, gold, fertilisers, aluminium, coffee, crude oil and zinc.