Page 6 - Free Trade Agreements

Piyush Goyal discusses FTA with EU Commissioner during Brussels visit

Goyal is on a visit to Brussels for a High-Level Dialogue with Maros Sefcovic from January 18-20

India-EU FTA negotiations a tough nut to crack as key issues unresolved

A major hurdles in the way of talks has been EU's stance on sustainable development, since trade bloc is set to implement regulations such as CBAM, deforestation regulation law, and supply chain law

UK-India business boosted by prospect of free trade agreement, says HSBC

In the nine months to October, HSBC's UK unit received 36 per cent more business client referrals from its arm in India

Nearly a decade on, New Zealand keen to restart free-trade agreement talks

The two countries entered into FTA negotiations 14 years ago, but talks stalled after 10 rounds of discussions, and no formal round of negotiations has been held since February 2015

'Pressure' from India Inc to raise duties: Industry secretary Bhatia

India has also been working to finalise free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and trade blocs like the European Union, facing immense pressure to reduce tariffs

Centre cautious on FTAs to safeguard farmers and MSMEs: EAM Jaishankar

Speaking at an event, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke about India's resilience and post-Covid recovery along with its careful stance on free trade agreements

Sustainability measures in trade adding to economic uncertainties: Govt

FTAs need to take a holistic view of the commercial significance they hold for the country and emphasise the importance of looking at goods, services, and investment together

India-UK FTA talks: Both sides seek to bridge gaps to close deal swiftly

India and the UK would seek to bridge the differences for expeditious conclusion of the proposed free trade agreement as Britain has announced resuming the negotiations early next year, an official statement said on Wednesday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that trade talks with India will relaunch in the new year, following his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit in Brazil. Starmer and Modi met on the sidelines of the summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, after which Downing Street said the UK will seek a new strategic partnership with India, including a trade agreement. The India-UK talks for the proposed FTA began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles. "We welcome the announcement by the UK to relaunch the India-UK free trade talks in the new year," the commerce ministry said. Noting the importance for securing a balanced, mutually beneficial and forward .

UK PM Starmer seeks India trade deal even Sunak couldn't pull off

The UK's trading relationship with India was worth £42 billion in the 12 months to June 2024

India's FTA with Oman hits deadlock over revision in market access offer

Government officials said that the negotiations were completed earlier in March and revising India's offer would mean restarting inter-ministerial consultations to firm up India's revised stance

India looks to establish standardised negotiation process for trade deals

The government is seeking to revive a decade-old proposal to streamline FTA negotiations, especially in the backdrop of imbalanced deals with a couple of trade partners

New trade strategy could help India shift from 'no' to 'yes' in deals

Indian officials still tend to think of trade as a zero-sum game, with tariffs as the only real levers

No trade pact if EU insists on opening up dairy biz, says Piyush Goyal

Goyal also said that extraneous issues such as labour and climate change should be discussed on international forums

India wants to keep its dairy industry out of EU free-trade deal: Goyal

A trade deal could be concluded swiftly if sensitivities were respected on both sides, Goyal told the Asia-Pacific conference of German business in the Indian capital

Revisiting India's FTAs: New guidelines to boost trade and exports

New-age FTAs include clauses on environmental and labour regulations

India recalibrates FTA strategy amid past challenges and rising imports

Standard operating procedure will take into account strategy towards modern FTA issues such as environment, labour, and digital trade

India-EU leaders flag slow progress in free trade agreement talks

Delphin and Goyal also highlighted the need to resolve constraints and regulatory hurdles faced by companies while doing business in India and the EU, respectively

India fine tuning FTAs with countries to suit domestic industry: Prasada

India is revising FTAs with South Korea, Malaysia and various other ASEAN countries to benefit the domestic industries, Union Minister of State for Ministry of Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said on Monday. At the 64th annual session of ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association) here, he noted that the free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK and the European Union are being spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It will play a great role for the auto components industry," the minister said. He further said: "We are also revising and reworking our FTAs with Korea, with Malaysia, with ASEAN countries, which will be fine-tuned to the demands of our industry." Prasada also urged the auto components industry to increase investment in R&D activities. "We are not investing enough in R&D, I believe this is 1 per cent of the revenue that is being invested so this is very crucial," he noted. He also emphasised the importance of boosting exports, reducing import ..

India-Oman free trade pact talks at advanced stage, says Ambassador Narang

Discussions for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman are at an advanced stage and both sides hope to conclude the pact early, Indian Ambassador to Oman Amit Narang said on Tuesday. The pact will give a significant push to bilateral trade and investment ties between the two countries, he said. The pact, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), is expected to boost Indian exports to the west Asian country by eliminating duties, especially on petroleum products, textiles, electronics, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and iron and steel. "Discussions for a bilateral CEPA with Oman are at an advanced stage. We hope to conclude these discussions early and once this is done, this will be a significant push to bilateral, not just trade, but also bilateral investment ties," Narang said. Addressing an event organised by Ficci here, the Indian Ambassador to Oman also highlighted the significant potential for enhancing direct shipping li

Next round of India-Australia comprehensive trade pact talks in November

Senior officials of India and Australia are expected to hold their next round of talks for a compressive free trade agreement in November here, the commerce ministry said on Sunday. The two countries implemented an interim trade agreement in December 2022 and are now under negotiations to expand its scope. It said that the tenth round of India-Australia CECA (comprehensive economic cooperation agreement) negotiations was held from 19-22 August in Sydney in the areas of goods, services, digital trade, government procurement, rules of origin and agri-tech. Intense discussions were held on each of these tracks bringing in clarity and understanding for convergence in the remaining provisions, it added. "The next round of CECA negotiations is likely to be held in November," it said in a statement. The Indian delegation was led by Rajesh Agrawal, the Chief Negotiator and Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce and the Australian delegation was led by Ravi Kewalram, the Chief Negoti