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FTA Talks
India and the five-nation grouping Eurasian Economic Commission have reviewed the roadmap for their proposed free trade agreement in goods with an aim to boost economic ties between the two, according to an official statement on Sunday. On August 20 this year, India and the Eurasian Economic Union bloc inked terms of reference to start formal negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has visited Moscow last week to hold talks with Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrey Slepnev and Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Mikhail Yurin. "In the meeting with Minister Slepnev, the Commerce Secretary reviewed the next steps for the India-EAEU FTA in goods. The Terms of Reference signed on 20 August 2025 outline an 18-month work plan aimed at diversifying markets for Indian businesses, including MSMEs, farmers and fishermen," the commerce ministry said on Sunday. The five members of the Eurasian Economic Unio
The next round of negotiations between India and Chile on the proposed free trade agreement is expected to be held in December here, an official said. The pact with the the South American nation may help India access critical minerals, which are key inputs for electronics, auto, and solar sectors. India and Chile concluded the third round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Santiago. The four-day talks concluded on October 30. India is seeking preferential treatment for critical minerals in Chile under the pact. India's growing trade engagement with Chile reflects its strategic focus on building stronger partnerships with the Latin American region through mutually beneficial and comprehensive economic cooperation frameworks, the official said. India and Chile implemented a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. CEPA aims to build upon the exis
India and New Zealand will hold the next round of negotiations for the proposed trade pact on October 13-14 here, the commerce ministry said on Friday. The third round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded on September 19 in Queenstown, New Zealand. "Both sides agreed to maintain momentum through inter-sessional engagements. The next round of in-person negotiations is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 13-14 October, 2025," it said. The third round, held from September 15-19, 2025, witnessed constructive discussions across all areas of the agreement. Several chapters were concluded, and significant progress was achieved in other key domains, it said. The FTA was formally launched on March 16, 2025. India's bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand stood at USD 1.3 billion in 2024-25, registering a growth of nearly 49 per cent over the previous year. "The proposed FTA is expected to further boost trade flows, promote investment linkag
The free trade agreement between India and four-European nation bloc EFTA, which will come into force from October 1, will have legally binding provisions on trade and sustainable development, Switzerland said on Wednesday. "For the first time, India has laid down legally binding provisions on trade and sustainable development in a free trade agreement," it said in a statement. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The two sides signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024. Under the pact, India has received an investment commitment of USD 100 billion in 15 years from the grouping while allowing several products such as Swiss watches, chocolates and cut and polished diamonds at lower or zero duties. The bloc committed an investment of USD 100 billion USD 50 billion within 10 years after the implementation of the agreement and another USD 50 billion in the next five years which would
The government will organise as many as 1,000 outreach programmes, including stakeholder meetings, workshops, awareness drives and feedback sessions, in the next 20 days across the country to sensitise industry and states on the India-UK trade agreement, sources said. The exercise is aimed at ensuring effective implementation and maximising benefits from the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), which was signed on July 24. They said that there is a plan to hold sector-wise outreach programmes. Teams will also visit different states to inform them about the benefits of this trade agreement. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will hold a meeting with the leather and textiles sector on the trade pact here on Monday. The pact will see 99 per cent of Indian exports enter the UK duty-free, when it comes into force. It will also reduce tariffs on British products such as cars, cosmetics, and whisky. The deal aims to double the USD 56-billion trade between the worl
India and the US teams discussed issues pertaining to market access, digital trade, and customs facilitation during the week-long deliberations on the proposed bilateral trade agreement, an official said. According to the official, both sides agreed to continue negotiations to achieve an expeditious conclusion of the initial tranche of the BTA. India and the US are working towards negotiating the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall (September-October) 2025. To advance the objective of concluding a comprehensive and forward-looking BTA, a US delegation led by Additional US Trade Representative visited India from June 4-10. "During the visit, in-depth negotiations were held on various elements of the proposed BTA that among others included areas such as market access, SPS (sanitary and phyto-sanitary/TBT (technical barriers to trade), digital trade, customs and trade facilitation and legal framework," the official said. The ..