Page 3 - Free Trade Pact

India, UK to hold next round of talks for free trade agreement in Jan

India and the UK officials in January next year will hold the next round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) to resolve remaining issues, the commerce ministry said on Monday. The 13th round of negotiations for the proposed pact was held between September 18 and December 15. "The UK and India will continue to negotiate towards a comprehensive and ambitious Free Trade Agreement. The fourteenth round of negotiations will take place in January 2024," the ministry said in a statement. These negotiations focussed on complex issues including goods, services, and investment. An Indian team was in London recently. Issues which need to be resolved include duty cuts on electric vehicles and whiskey and the movement of professionals. Talks are also progressing on the proposed bilateral investment treaty (BIT). India and the UK launched the talks for a free-trade agreement (FTA) in January 2022, to conclude talks by Diwali (October 24, 2022), but the deadline was missed due

Ahead of India-Asean FTA review: Industry flags spike in import of 38 items

Import of as many as 38 items from Asean members sees a sharp surge in H1FY24

PM Rishi Sunak's officials in Delhi to discuss India-UK FTA: Report

Senior officials from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's team are in New Delhi this week to add momentum behind the ongoing round of negotiations for an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), according to a UK media report on Saturday. The Guardian' newspaper reports that while there is no official comment from either side on such a visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is keen to finalise the FTA by the end of February before Sunak sets off on an expected general election campaign trail. Both countries are heading into an election year in 2024 and signing off on a trade agreement with India will bolster Sunak's electoral pitch to voters showing signs of anti-incumbency towards his governing Conservatives. The deal is still very much on and we think it is possible before both countries have their elections. Both sides are keen to get this done, an official close to the talks told the newspaper. The India-UK FTA talks began in January last year with Diwali 2022 set as t

Govt continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade pacts: RS told

The government is continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade agreements with key countries to expand its share in world commerce, Parliament was informed on Friday. These initiatives include bilateral meetings, stakeholder consultations, and the exchange of trade data, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. She also said a number of bilateral meetings have been held with the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) to discuss the trade agreement. Draft texts and terms of reference have been exchanged. "EaEU's trade data from January 2022 onwards, necessary to determine the scope of the agreement and potential gains from the agreement, is awaited from EaEU," she said, adding that "the government is continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade agreements with significant trade partners, including EaEU, with a view to expanding its share in world trade". In a separate reply, the minister said India's mobile phone exports h

Textile stocks in demand; Nitin Spinners, Vardhman, RSWM rally up to 14%

The signing of free trade agreements (FTAs) with multiple countries, and stability in export incentive policy presents an opportunity for Indian exporters to gain global market share.

India raises concerns over potential carbon taxes in UK FTA talks: Report

Earlier this year, Britain initiated consultations with domestic stakeholders on measures such as a potential carbon border tax, which could mimic the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism.

EU wants free trade deal with India for 'real' mkt access: Spain's Minister

"There is an enormous interest from the member states, but only if there will be an access to the real market, without which the deal would be emptied"

UK PM Sunak reiterates commitment to get free trade deal with India done

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated his commitment to closer India-UK ties across different sectors, including a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Addressing a reception by the diaspora group Conservative Friends of India (CFIN) on the sidelines of the ongoing Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Monday evening, the British Indian leader began by reflecting upon his successful first visit to India as Prime Minister for the India-led G20 Summit last month. I've just come back from my first trip to India as Prime Minister and that was very successful, said Sunak. Everybody here already knows just how strong the relationship between our two countries is. At the G20, we really saw a glimpse of what the future of that relationship can be, with closer cooperation on absolutely everything from trade to defence, innovation, security, research, and I hope a free trade deal, and we can get it done, he said. The 43-year-old politician, who is leadin

Israel-Vietnamese Free Trade Deal opens Southeast Asia opportunities

By lowering customs taxes on Israeli products, Israel can better compete against similar products from other countries which Vietnam already has free trade with

Cases under probe for fraud not to be covered under FTP's amnesty scheme

Cases under investigation for fraud, and misdeclaration of capital goods will be excluded from the coverage of the amnesty scheme announced under the new foreign trade policy (FTP), according to the commerce ministry. The government announced the new FTP on March 31. It included an amnesty scheme for exporters for one-time settlement of default in export obligation by the holders of advance and EPCG (export promotion for capital goods) authorisations. Under the scheme, all pending cases of the default in meeting export obligation (EO) of certain authorizations can be regularised by the authorisation holder on payment of all customs duties that were exempted in proportion to unfulfilled EO and interest at the rate of 100 per cent of such duties exempted. However, no interest is payable on the portion of additional customs duty and special additional customs duty. All those authorization holders who are interested to avail of the scheme will have to register themselves with the DGFT

FTP talks with UK continuing, trade stands on its own legs: Goyal

Amid a diplomatic row following protests by secessionist groups near the Indian mission in London, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said talks on a Free Trade Agreement with the UK are continuing. Talks are "going on very well" with the UK, Goyal said, adding, "trade stands on its own legs". The Union minister, however, made it clear that India will take into consideration a respect for her sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will not tolerate any interference in her Indian affairs. India's Ministry of External Affairs summoned the senior-most British diplomat in New Delhi on a Sunday evening recently, over reports of some Khalistani elements pulling down the Indian flag at the Indian high commission in London during a protest. India has also responded by proposing or undertaking several actions, like reducing security at the British mission and constructing a public toilet there. When asked about the impact of the ongoing events on the trade agreement, Goyal

UK-India trade has potential to double by 2030: UK's Dy High Commissioner

Notwithstanding the impact of Russia's war with Ukraine, the UK and India are heading towards an era of positive engagement in trade and business relations, with steps underway to promote mutual investments in both the nations, British Deputy High Commissioner in charge of Kerala and Karnataka Chandru Iyer said. Iyer who is also UK's Deputy Trade Commissioner for South Asia spoke in detail to PTI on Friday about the trade and investments between the UK and India and said there was potential to double the business by 2030. He was in the state to take part in various official engagements, including a meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and also in connection with the port of call made by the British Royal Navy's frigate ship, HMS Lancaster, at Kochi. Calling war a global phenomenon that affects all countries in more ways than one, the British Deputy High Commissioner hailed entrepreneurs for being enterprising and resilient in the face of adversity. "If you look at t

India, Oz for early conclusion of trade pact talks; eye $100 bn in 5 years

India and Australia on Saturday expressed their commitment for concluding the negotiations for expanding the scope of existing free trade agreement by the end of this year with an aim to push the bilateral trade to USD 100 billion. The issue came up for discussions during the meeting of joint ministerial commission between commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Don Farrell. Farrell is accompanying Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who is here on an official visit. On December 29, last year India and Australia implemented an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) and are now negotiating to expand its scope for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). "ECTA was the first stage of our economic engagement. We are now entering into phase-2 of our discussions where we are looking at much wider ambit of subjects and taking this into a CECA," Goyal told reporters here. After the first India-Australia summit talks here on

India's push for free trade negotiations: A status check of ongoing deals

Take a look at the status of the ongoing FTA negotiations by India

India-EU trade pact: Negotiators begin third round of talks, says official

Senior officials of India and the European Union (EU) on Monday commenced the third round of talks on a proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting trade and investments between the two regions, an official said. India's bilateral trade with the EU rose by 43.5 per cent to USD 116.36 billion in 2021-22. At present, the EU is India's second largest trading partner after the US, and the second largest destination for Indian exports. India and the EU on June 17 this year formally resumed negotiations on the proposed India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement, including the Geographical Indications (GI). The EU delegation is here for the third round of talks and the talks will continue till December 9, the official said. The second round of negotiations were held in Brussels. According to the commerce ministry, the trade agreement with the EU would help India in further expanding and diversifying its exports of goods and services, including securing the value chains. A GI is .

What can India gain from the trade pact with Australia?

The Australian Parliament gave its assent to a free trade agreement with India, and amended the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. Let's understand how it will benefit India's foreign trade

India, GCC group to launch free trade pact negotiations on Nov 24

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement on November 24 with an aim to boost economic ties between the two regions, an official said. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. "The FTA will be launched on November 24. GCC officials will be here to launch the talks," the official said. India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May this year. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had, on November 16, said that India will be launching a new free trade agreement (FTA) next week. This would be a kind of resumption of FTA talks as earlier two rounds of negotiations held in 2006 and 2008 between India and GCC. Third round did not happen as GCC deferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups. India imports predominately crude oil and natural gas from the Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and exports pearls,

E-certificate of origin valid for claiming duty concessions: CBIC

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday clarified that electronically generated certificate of origin (CoO) issued by the UAE authority is a valid document for claiming customs duty benefits under India-UAE free trade agreement. However, it said that the certificate has to be issued in a prescribed format bearing electronically printed seal and signatures of the authorised signatory of the issuing authority. The trade agreement between India and the UAE came into force from May 1 this year. Under this, domestic exporters of over 6,000 goods from sectors like textiles, agriculture, dry fruits, gem and jewellery get duty-free access to the UAE market. On the other hand, India gives duty-free access to 7,694 goods coming from the UAE. A trader has to submit a 'certificate of origin' at the landing port of the importing country to claim duty concessions under free-trade agreements. This certificate is essential to prove where their goods come from. In a ...

Intensive negotiations ongoing for Diwali trade pact with India, says UK

Intensive negotiations are ongoing to meet the target to conclude the majority of the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) talks by Diwali, UK government sources said on Thursday. Officials said that both countries continue to negotiate a high-ambition free trade agreement that could boost the UK economy by more than GBP 3 billion by 2035. The UK and India set a target to conclude most of the talks by Diwali (24th October) and intensive negotiations are ongoing, sources said. Officials familiar with the negotiations also sought to realign the issue of mobility by drawing a distinction between temporary business visas and long-term migration, saying business mobility is not the same as immigration because business mobility covers the temporary entry for talent to work for a specific time period in a trade partner country. Any commitments we seek on temporary entry will aim to encourage the best and brightest talent in India to temporarily work in the UK, official sources said. It ..

G20 trade ministerial: WTO reforms, supply chains may dominate agenda

Minister Goyal is expected to hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from member countries