Page 12 - Free Trade Agreement

Negotiating teams to restart FTA talks with India as soon as possible: UK

The process of getting negotiating teams back in the room will kick-start soon to deliver a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India, the UK's newly elected Labour government announced on Monday as it set out its trading priorities. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds spelt out his department's approach to international trade deals, which he said will put economic growth at the heart of the negotiations to achieve high-quality pacts that give British businesses access to international markets and boost jobs. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it also plans to publish a trade strategy which aligns with the government's industrial strategy, enhances economic security and supports net zero ambitions. Boosting trade abroad is essential to deliver a strong economy at home. That's why I've wasted no time taking stock of progress and getting ready to press on with trade talks with our international partners, said Reynolds. From the Gulf to India, our trade programme

India-UK FTA: UKIBC chief Mccole hopeful of signing some deal quickly

Reiterating the UK Foreign Secretary's statement, he noted that David Lammy sees FTA as a "floor" for both countries' trade and investment relationship

India-UK unveil futuristic Technology Security Initiative; to seal FTA soon

India and the UK on Wednesday firmed up a landmark technology security initiative that sets out a bold new approach for collaboration in a range of "priority" sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with a broader aim to elevate their strategic partnership to the next level. The decision on the UK-India Technology Security Initiative was made public following wide-ranging talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting British counterpart David Lammy. In the discussions, both sides appreciated the "substantial" progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations and looked forward to its "early conclusion" to achieve a mutually beneficial deal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It is learnt that the Indian side, during the talks, flagged its concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK while the British side raised the issue of Christian Michel, the key accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP ..

India-UK FTA negotiations floor not ceiling of ambitions: David Lammy

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday began a two-day visit to India to galvanise negotiations for an ambitious Free Trade Agreement and reset the overall bilateral partnership in crucial areas such as clean energy, new technologies and security. As he embarked on the high-profile trip, Lammy described the negotiations for the trade deal as the floor and not the ceiling of the ambitions to unlock shared potential and deliver growth. The British foreign secretary's visit to New Delhi is the first high-level engagement between India and the UK after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government came to power on July 5. "India is the emerging superpower of the 21st century, the largest country in the world with 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest growing economies in the world," Lammy said. "Our Free Trade Agreement negotiations is the floor not the ceiling of our ambitions to unlock our shared potential and deliver growth, from Bengaluru to Birmingham," he said.

Higher exports and migration marked post-Covid UK ties with India

India is among the largest sources of investments into UK

UK elections: How Starmer defied expectations to lift Labour back to power

He has now led the Labour party to victory, on track for the biggest majority in Parliament since at least Tony Blair's New Labour landslide in 1997

100-day plan: Govt e-platform to spur exports, connect with stakeholders

Since India has been on a free trade agreement (FTA) signing spree, the platform will offer easy access to benefits under these agreements

India initiated efforts to create FTA between 2 nations: Maldives minister

Maldives on Saturday said India has initiated efforts to create a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries and deliberations are ongoing for achieving it. They (India) want there to be a Free Trade Agreement with Maldives, in addition to SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement), Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed told a press conference here. The Maldives President has offered this opportunity to all countries, Saeed said, adding that the government aims to enter into agreements with as many countries as possible to offer ease in trade activities. India's reported effort at seeking an FTA with the Maldives comes in the backdrop of an ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries since November last year when President Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took the oath. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. The last of the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians earlier

What lies ahead for the India-EFTA countries free-trade agreement?

India's interest in trade and economic partnership with EFTA countries stems from the expertise of affluent member-nations in precision technology, and India's appetite for foreign direct investment

Govt plans to formulate SOPs for negotiating free trade agreements

India is considering formulating standard operating procedures (SOP) for negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) as the country is engaging with several trade partners for such pacts, an official said. To discuss the various aspects of these agreements, the commerce ministry is organising a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' on FTA strategy and SOPs for trade negotiations. Former commerce secretaries, industry experts and government officials would participate in the deliberations on May 16-17 at Neemrana, Rajasthan. Various issues that would come up for deliberations include India's trade strategy and vision 2047; economic assessment and modelling of FTAs; inclusion of new disciplines into FTAs such as labour, environment, gender, indigenous people; services and digital trade; SOPs for FTA negotiations; and industry experience on utilisation of the FTAs. A separate session is being organised on leveraging India's FTAs to address new forms/kind of measures such as CBAM (carbon border ...

Next round of talks on proposed India-Peru trade agreement likely in Jun

The chief negotiators of India and South American nation Peru are likely to hold the next rounds of talks for a proposed free trade agreement in June, an official statement said on Thursday. So far, seven rounds of talks have been completed. "The next round, expected in June 2024, will be preceded by intersessional negotiations over VC (video conference) to ensure that outstanding issues are resolved before the two parties meet again," the commerce ministry said. The seventh round of talks involved understanding priorities and mutual concerns and ensuring that the negotiations are rooted in mutual respect and benefit, it added. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the basic principle of negotiations should be understanding strengths and respecting sensitivities of each other. The modalities of negotiation may emerge from appropriate stakeholder consultations, and feedback from the industry and the negotiating teams should engage in a gainful and explorative approach, he said. R

India-Chile free-trade agreement talks may begin after Lok Sabha polls

A trade deal with Chile will give India greater access to Latin American region

Europe is the saving grace for declining Indian exports in 2023

This was driven by demand for products such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, petroleum products, engineering products, machinery, as well as chemicals, government data showed

Trade policy calibrated with growth but open for expansion: Piyush Goyal

At Business Standard Manthan, Piyush Goyal added that in America and Europe, there are still high duties for several products

Possible outcomes of India-UK trade deal

India faces complex negotiations ahead that could restrict domestic policy space and economic interests

Key India peers see sharper growth in services trade, shows data

India's services exports increased by 14 per cent between the third quarter of 2022 and Q3 of 2023

FTA talks with SACU nations on the cards after new govt takes over

The customs union includes South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini

India, Peru set to thrash out issues on free-trade agreement document

The two nations are aiming to share the document and offer a list of services as well as goods before the seventh round, scheduled to begin in New Delhi on April 8

Round 14 of India-UK FTA talks put on hold ahead of election schedule

The 14th round of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK has now closed, with formal negotiations being put on hold as India heads into election campaign mode as the general election schedule is announced on Saturday. According to UK officials familiar with the discussions, a lot of progress has been made but the teams are not in a position to conclude an agreement which led to the Round 14 closing on Friday. The next round of formal trade talks can commence only after the Lok Sabha polls have concluded. The India-UK FTA negotiations, which opened in January 2022, are aimed at securing an ambitious outcome for bilateral trade currently worth around GBP 38.1 billion a year as per official statistics from last month. We anticipate that while some talks might happen between rounds, the next round of negotiations will take place after the Indian elections, official sources in the UK said. Neither side is walking away from talks. It's just that we don't h

PM Modi talks with UK counterpart Sunak to review progress of FTA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Tuesday as they welcomed the progress made in the ongoing discussion between the two countries for an early conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA). During their telephonic conversation, they reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, a statement said. In a post on X, Modi said, "Had a good conversation with PM @RishiSunak. We reaffirmed our commitment to further strengthen the bilateral Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and work for early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement." The statement said the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the progress made under the "Roadmap 2030" in diverse areas including trade, investment, defence, security, emerging technologies and others. "They assessed positively the progress made towards early conclusion of a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement," it said. The two leaders also excha