Page 15 - Free Trade Agreement

Will only agree India trade deal approach that works for UK: Rishi Sunak

The free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India are progressing and Britain will only agree to a pact that works for the whole of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his ministers. Ahead of his first visit to India as UK Prime Minister to attend the G20 World Leaders' Summit in New Delhi later this week, Sunak updated his top team on the ongoing trade talks, which have completed 12 rounds of negotiations, during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. The British Indian leader described India as an indispensable partner of the UK across all spheres of bilateral cooperation, which he is keen to strengthen further. He said negotiations around a free trade deal were progressing and that he would only agree to an approach which worked for the whole of the UK, notes a Downing Street readout of the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister said India was an indispensable partner of the UK, both economically and in addressing the global challenges all democracies are facing. He said we mu

India, UK to take stock of FTA at 'higher level' by end of the month

US raises concerns over India's decision to put import restrictions on laptops, PCs

FTA talks: Treaty to figure prominently during UK's high-level team visit

Issues pertaining to the proposed bilateral investment treaty being negotiated between India and the UK along with a free trade agreement will figure prominently during the visit of a high-level team from Britain here, an official said. UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and Director General for Trade Negotiations at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) Amanda Brooks are visiting India this week. Besides participating in the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting in Jaipur on August 24-25, the UK minister will hold bilateral talks with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on August 26 here and review the progress of talks on the free trade agreement. The UK minister is also expected to meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on various issues, including the bilateral investment treaty. Brooks would also meet senior officials of the department of economic affairs in the finance ministry, which is leading the negotiations on the investment

G20 meet: India to hold FTA talks with UK, EU and Canada next week

All platforms being used to flag non-tariff barriers impacting trade

Requirements for a UK work visa might get easier for Indians. Here is why

Net migration to the UK reached an unprecedented 606,000 individuals last year

Trend line on India-UK FTA very positive, says High Commissioner Doraiswami

Ahead of the 12th round of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations starting in New Delhi on Wednesday, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK has expressed optimism that officials on both sides will be able to get something working and find a right fit towards a mutually beneficial pact. High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami told PTI that he is positive as both countries seem keen to make necessary adjustments, recognising the complexities involved with the very different structures of the two similar-sized economies. On the wider bilateral partnership, he expressed similar optimism around an "obvious synergy" across different sectors. I'm positive about it (FTA) My intention is that to the extent we can, we would like a mutually beneficial forward-looking FTA to be concluded, said the High Commissioner. I believe both sides are keen on making the necessary adjustments. Even though we're both similar-sized economies, we are dissimilar in the structures of our economies a

Demand on data-related issues, concessions on dairy out of India-UK FTA

Protecting the interest of domestic players, India has kept demands of Britain on data related issues and giving any kind of duty concessions on dairy sector out of the ambit of the proposed free trade agreement being negotiated between the two countries, sources said. However, India is looking at providing duty concessions on auto, and certain confectionery items, they said. The negotiation for the agreement has reached a critical stage and in all likelihood it could be concluded by October end or November. The talks received a great impetus due to the recent visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to London in July, where both held a series of meetings with different stakeholders including senior British officials. The negotiation would get a further fillip during the meetings of trade ministers of India and the UK at the sidelines of G20 trade ministers meeting this month in Jaipur. "The visit of the Indian minister and secreta

India, Peru to resume FTA discussions to promote commerce, investment

The official also said that Chile has also shown interest in a trade deal with India. Both countries had in 2005 also signed a preferential trade agreement

12th round of India, UK free trade agreement talks to begin from August 7

As India and the UK are close to concluding negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), chief negotiators of both countries will hold the 12th round of talks from August 7 here, an official said. Both sides are looking at concluding the talks before the end of the year. The main issues which could come up for discussions in this round include investment treaty, reduction of duties on auto and whiskey and matters pertaining to services, the official said. The 11th round of talks was concluded last month. For that round, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal visited London and took stock of the negotiations. Out of the total 26 chapters in the FTA, 19 have been closed. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK and it would be concluded simultaneously with the free trade agreement. In the rules of origin chapters, product specific rules are being negotiated whi

Hopeful of finalising certain FTAs in next few months: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said he is hopeful of India finalising certain free trade agreements (FTAs) in the next few months, which would help promote exports. India is in the final stages of concluding FTA negotiations with the UK. The country is also negotiating similar pacts with Canada and European Union (EU). "We can leverage the free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia and we are hopeful that in the next few months, we will finalise many more free trade agreements to help you grow your business with zero duty on finished leather products and footwear available for you to exploit bigger and better markets," Goyal said while addressing footwear industry representatives here. The minister also asked the industry to focus on quality and sustainable manufacturing processes to tap business opportunities in the developed world. The Indian footwear and leather industry is not only a major foreign exchange earner but being a labour-intensive secto

India, UK close to concluding FTA talks, working to iron out issues on IPRs

India and the UK are "very close" to concluding negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement as both sides are working to iron out differences on issues including investment treaty, intellectual property rights (IPRs) and rules of origin, a senior government official said on Friday. The official also said there is a broad consensus on matters related to auto and spirits, however "nothing is agreed till everything is agreed". The 11th round of talks was concluded recently. For that round, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal visited London and took stock of the negotiations. The official exuded confidence that the negotiations will be concluded this year. "We are very close and are trying to conclude the talks as early as possible," the official added. Out of the total 26 chapters in the FTA, 19 have been closed. "Remaining issues include IPRs, rules of origin and investment treaty," the official added. In the rules of origin chap

First year of FTA with UAE: India's fuel exports grow faster than non-fuel

The trade deal is expected to benefit almost 90 per cent of India's exports, in terms of value

Commerce ministry to increase bandwidth to negotiate free trade pacts

With a number of countries approaching India for negotiating bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) to boost economic ties, the commerce ministry is looking at ways to increase its bandwidth for undertaking these time and human resource consuming talks, a senior official said. The commerce ministry officials at present are negotiating several FTAs with countries including the UK, Canada and European Union. "Negotiations are really time consuming and energy consuming and human resource consuming. Therefore, we are trying to increase the bandwidth within the commerce department," the government official said. Indian trade service officers are expected to be engaged more in the negotiations of free trade agreements. Latin American countries such as Peru are also interested in doing an FTA with India and India is also looking deeply into that, the official said. South American trade bloc MERCOSUR is also keen to expand the scope of existing preferential trade agreements to an FTA. Ind

Hope India-Gulf Cooperation Council FTA becomes a reality: Official

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council have resumed talks for concluding a free trade agreement which is expected to bring new business opportunities for both sides, a top Indian official said on Wednesday as he expressed hope that the deal would soon become a reality. Secretary (Consular, Passport & Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs Ausaf Sayeed also shared that India is in discussion with its bilateral partners with regard to alternate payment mechanisms like rupee trading and barter trading "especially under the new circumstances where most countries are facing challenges of foreign currency". GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The Arab region is the largest trading partner bloc of India with a trade exceeding USD 240 billion during financial year 2022-23. Of this, trade with GCC countries alone amounted to over USD 184 billion. The UAE remained India's third largest ...

Piyush Goyal to visit UK for FTA negotiations, review progress of TEPA

The India-UK bilateral trading relationship was worth Pound 34 billion in 2022, growing by Pound 10 billion ( Rs 102 crore) in one year

No deal for access to Britain's labour market: UK on India FTA talks

Britain launched trade talks with India in January last year, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stressed that he won't sacrifice quality for speed in negotiations

India should consider free trade agreement with Egypt, say exporters

India should consider negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with Egypt as the Mediterranean nation holds huge potential for the domestic industry in various sectors like agri products, steel items and light vehicles, according to exporters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Cairo for a two-day state visit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said that India and Egypt have historic trade relations, which are robust and fairly balanced. India's exports increased to USD 4.1 billion in 2022-23 from USD 3.74 billion in 2021-22. However, imports from that country declined to about USD 2 billion against USD 3.5 billion in 2021-22. Fertiliser, crude oil, chemicals, raw cotton, and raw hides are major import items from Egypt. The main export items include wheat, rice, cotton yarn, petroleum, meat, flat-rolled products, ferroalloys (related to iron) and light vehicles. "The prime minist

India, UK conclude another round of talks on free trade agreement: Official

Technical discussions were held across 10 policy areas in over 50 separate sessions, according to statement

India, UK seeking equal treatment for services sector cos under FTA

India and the UK are seeking equal treatment in each other's market for their respective companies engaged in the services sector under the proposed free trade agreement, which is under negotiations, a government official said. The two countries are looking at promoting trade in services through this agreement, negotiations for which was launched on January 13, 2021. As many as ten rounds of talks have been completed till June this year and both sides are aiming to conclude the negotiations at the earliest. In the services sector, the official said the UK is showing keen interest in areas such as financial sectors, while India is looking at areas such as education and movement of skilled professionals. Under the services chapter of the free trade agreement, there are no customs duty concessions given to each other. The two trading partners negotiate issues like giving national treatment to Indian and British companies in different sectors and ease norms to promote trade in service

India-UK FTA has to be win-win for both sides, says FICCI president

Free trade agreements (FTAs) need to ensure they provide a level playing field and the India-UK FTA, which recently completed its 10th round of negotiations, has to be a win-win scenario for both sides, the head of India's leading business chambers has said. Subhrakant Panda, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), was in the UK this week for the FICCI Forum of Parliamentarians, a bipartisan initiative for political outreach. The delegation from India was briefed on areas of interest in the bilateral relationship over a series of discussions with businesses and parliamentarians. As far as Indian businesses are concerned, we are competitive, confident and looking to engage with the world, said Panda. I think what FTAs need to ensure is that they provide a level playing field and are rules-based. It's all about give and take. Clearly, both governments are engaged in intense discussions and 10 rounds have been completed, so I would look at it f