Govt hopes to close India-UK free trade agreement issues by month-end

The 12th round of talks between the countries is in progress here and is expected to continue until at least 28 August

India is hoping to resolve pending issues related to the free trade agreement (FTA) such as rules of origin, bilateral investment treaty and intellectual property rights, among others, by the end of the month, especially during the meeting with key UK officials next week.

“Now, there are only a few issues left. The UK team is coming to India during the Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting (in Jaipur) and we are hoping that we would be closing those remaining issues. So, our target is that we close the issues with the UK when the team visits us and we are hopeful that the issues will be sorted out,” a senior government official told reporters on Monday.

The official further said that there is a ‘huge’ progress in the talks between India and the UK on the proposed FTA.

Since the talks are moving, negotiations for the agreement could be concluded soon.

The 12th round of talks between the countries are in progress here and is expected to continue till at least August 28. Out of the total 26 chapters in the proposed FTA, 19 have been closed. 

“I think there is a good possibility of the UK FTA moving forward... there are a lot of steps before the FTA is signed…Lots of visits are happening, that is why we are saying that we are very keen to close the remaining chapters during this visit,” the official said.

Both the nations had kick-started formal negotiations in January 2022 and had set an ambitious Diwali/October-end (the same year) deadline for the trade pact.

The deadline was missed as both sides were not able to iron out differences in providing greater market access for certain goods and services.

The UK is India’s 15th largest trade partner, with total trade at $20.36 billion in FY23.

More curbs on electronic goods imports unlikely

A senior government official on Monday said that a proposal to impose import restrictions on more electronic goods is not in the offing. “As and when we feel that, we will do it in consul­tation with the ministries. But currently, there is no such move,” the official said. The statement comes weeks after the government decided to impose import curbs on laptops, perso­nal computers and certain electronic devices from Nov­ember 1 on ‘security’ grounds. This is to reduce imports from nations such as China and boost domestic manufacturing.

“We do not want to be dependent upon very few sources of imports... So, we are evaluating the position in consultation with various ministries. We are looking at trends, but there is nothing in the offing, as of now,” the official said.