Page 2 - Free Trade Pact

India must protect farmers, digital ecosystem in trade pact with US: GTRI

Any trade agreement with the US must not be politically driven or one-sided and India should protect its farmers, digital ecosystem, and policy space, economic think tank GTRI said on Friday. With India's chief trade negotiator in Washington DC and the clock ticking, the next few days could determine whether India and the US settle for a limited mini-deal or walk away from the negotiating table - at least for now, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The two sides are looking at finalising an interim trade pact before July 9, as it marks the end of US President Donald Trump's 90-day suspension of the country-specific tariffs, originally announced on April 2. "The more likely outcome is a limited trade pact - styled after the US-UK mini trade deal announced on May 8," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said, adding, "any trade deal with the US must not be politically driven or one-sided, it must protect our farmers, our digital ecosystem, and our sovereign regulatory ...

'US-UK FTA can serve as launch pad for Indian firms to enter US mkt'

MEA's Dammu Ravi says Indian firms can leverage the US-UK trade pact to expand into American markets, but cautions on supply chain gaps and infrastructure hurdles

India reserves right to retaliate if UK carbon tax hits exports: Official

The India-UK free trade agreement has no provision to counter Britain's proposed carbon tax, but amid uncertainty and absence of UK legislation, New Delhi has preserved its right to retaliate or rebalance concessions, if future measures impact domestic exports, an official said. The UK government in December 2023 decided to implement its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting 2027. According to economic think tank GTRI, India's exports worth USD 775 million to the UK may be impacted due to Britain's decision to introduce carbon tax on products such as iron and steel, aluminium, fertiliser and cement, from 2027. The official said that the free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK has no provisions to counter CBAM, which has the potential to nullify the concessions offered by Britain to India. "Because of current uncertainty and no legislation in place, there is an understanding that India will/ has preserved its right to retaliate or rebalance the concessions (in future),"

India, South Africa discuss preferential trade pact through SACU bloc

SACU nations include South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini and is the world's oldest customs union, over a century old

India should reconsider negotiating a comprehensive FTA with the US: GTRI

India should reconsider negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with the US as it could pose challenges to domestic sectors like agriculture, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. It cautioned that under trade pact with the US, many of Washington's demands such as weakening India's minimum price support system for farmers, allowing genetically modified food imports, lowering agricultural tariffs, changing patent laws to extend drug monopolies, and letting American e-commerce giants sell directly to consumers pose major risks. The risks include harm to farmer incomes, food security, biodiversity, public health, and the survival of small retailers, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. "Reducing tariffs on farm goods could affect the livelihoods of hundreds of millions, while slashing duties on cars could undercut a sector that accounts for nearly a third of India's manufacturing output. The collapse of Australia's car industry .

India's best interests will be kept in mind while inking trade pacts: Goyal

India's best interests will be kept in mind while inking trade pacts, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal assured businesses on Tuesday. "India First is our mantra, is our guiding principle," Goyal told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. Declining to divulge the exact contours of the ongoing trade talks with the US, Goyal said India is in talks with many countries. "They continue to go on very smoothly in a positive direction and all is well," he added. "We are covering a very wide array of subjects, a very wide array of products and I can assure business persons across the country that we are keeping the best interests of India at the forefront of our discussions," Goyal said. The bilateral trade agreement with the US will power the economy towards becoming a developed nation by 2047 when the country celebrates 100 years of independence, he said. Speaking at the Dubai India business forum here, Goyal said India is mulling to start an Indian Institute of Management and

Free trade deal may get delayed as Australia approaches 2025 elections

Both nations had signed the interim trade deal, also known as India-Australia ECTA that came into force on December 29, 2022

India, UK to relaunch FTA talks in 2025, 'address remaining issues'

Announcement follows first meeting between Prime Minister Modi and his British counterpart during G-20 summit in Brazil

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

Piyush Goyal suggests Bimstec group members to relook proposed FTA

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday suggested the seven member countries of the BIMSTEC bloc to relook at the progress of Free Trade Agreement talks which are moving at a very slow pace. He said that the members can think of negotiating a preferential trade agreement instead of a full-fledged free trade pact. BIMSTEC stands for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. Its seven members are five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka) and two Southeast Asian countries (Myanmar and Thailand). The bloc has been negotiating a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) since 2004. So far over 20 rounds of talks have been held. The last one was held in 2018. "I would like to raise a few fundamental issues about where we stand and what are the possibilities of making this FTA a reality," Goyal said here at CIIs BIMSTEC Business Summit 2024. He said that so far 22 rounds of talks have been held for t

India, EFTA trade pact under ratification process: MoS Jitin Prasada

The government on Friday said the free trade agreement signed between India and the four European nation bloc EFTA in March is under the ratification process in those countries. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada said that there is no fixed time frame for the ratification, as the process is different in each of the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries. In March, India and EFTA signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA). Under the pact, India will receive the investment 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 EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. "The TEPA agreement is under the ratification process in the national parliament or legislature of each EFTA country," Prasada said. In India, such trade pacts are approved by the Union Cabinet. According to the

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

South Korea trade: India did better on manufactured goods, grew at 6.4%

Electronic goods was among the fastest growing segment among major manufactured goods imported from South Korea

India-EU FTA: Will the marriage reconcile?

While realpolitik is not expected to result in a favourable trade agreement between India and EU, the partners would do best in settling for a more realistic agenda with some compromise from both side

India-EFTA deal symbolises shared commitment to equitable trade: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the India-EFTA trade agreement symbolises our shared commitment to open, fair and equitable trade. He also said that the global leadership of EFTA countries in innovation and R&D across diverse spheres like digital trade, banking and financial services, and pharma will open up new doors of collaboration. "Heartiest Congratulations and best wishes to the negotiators and signatories involved in the signing of India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA)," Modi said in a written message. The Prime Minister's statement was read by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal here in the presence of ministers and officials of EFTA countries. "In the last 10 years, India's economy has taken a quantum leap, moving from being the world's eleventh largest economy to the fifth largest. Our next goal is to make India's economy in the world," the Prime Minister said. They are here for the signing of the FTA. The European Free Trade ...

India, EFTA ink free trade agreement; $100 bn investment target in 15 yrs

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland

India closes in on trade deal with Oman as Mideast ties strengthen

The two sides started talks on the trade pact just three months ago, and their haste in completing the deal shows Prime Minister Modi's determination in building stronger links with the Middle East

India will not rush into signing free trade deals, says Piyush Goyal

The minister was responding to a question on India's trade negotiations with the UK and the European Union (EU) becoming more complicated

LIVE: PM Modi gives 'Wed in India' call to retain wealth within country

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