Page 17 - Fta

PM Modi proposes economic corridor between Asean & Europe through India

PM Modi tells East Asia Summit that free and open Indo-Pacific is in everyone's interest

UK says it won't change immigration policy to secure India trade deal

There is growing optimism that a free trade deal between the countries could be concluded this year though the remaining topics to be discussed are some of the difficult

India, UK officials to start 13th round of FTA talks from September 4

Senior officials of India and the UK will start the 13th round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement from September 4, an official said on Thursday. The two sides concluded the 12th round of negotiations on August 31. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has recently stated that the negotiations between India and the UK for the proposed agreement are progressing and both countries are committed to concluding the talks as early as possible. UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch was here recently to review the progress of talks. She also held bilateral meetings with Goyal and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Before the 12th round, the sides had concluded talks on 19 of the total 26 chapters in the FTA. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK. The bilateral trade between countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.

India, UK to continue free trade agreement negotiations till Aug-end

Indian and UK officials will continue their negotiations till the month-end to iron out differences on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), the commerce ministry said on Sunday. This meeting will be followed by a review at the higher level, it said. Following the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting (TIMM) at Jaipur, the progress of the negotiations was reviewed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK's Secretary of State for Trade Kemi Badenoch on August 26. "Teams are going to continue negotiations till the end of August 2023 which will be followed by stock taking at the higher level, it said. While expressing satisfaction over the last 12 rounds of negotiations wherein several chapters have been finalized, both exuded confidence that the next round of talks to be similarly successful. "Both Chief Negotiators apprised the ministers about the current state of play, issues outstanding for resolution and their continuous joint efforts to iron out the same,"

India-UK FTA negotiations going on, making good progress: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the negotiations between India and the UK for the proposed free trade agreement are progressing and both countries are committed to concluding the talks as early as possible. "We are working hard, we are all committed to a fair, equitable, and balanced trade agreement, respecting each other's sensitivities, respecting the different levels of developments that both the countries have and respecting the future potential that each country brings to the table," Goyal told reporters here. Keeping all of these circumstances in mind, the two countries have made "good" progress and the 12th round of talks is undergoing, he added. When asked about the deadline for concluding the negotiations, the minister said no country in the world works through specific deadlines. "But I would like to see it happen tomorrow, the faster the better We are both committed to a good outcome, at the fastest possible speed," he added. UK Business and

India-UK FTA in final stages, says UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch

'Difficult for many countries to agree on joint communique'

GCC keen to 'quickly' start talks for free trade agreement: Goyal

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has expressed the desire to "quickly" get back on the negotiating table to discuss a potential trade agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Last year, both the regions agreed to pursue an FTA and resume the negotiations. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. The council is the largest trading bloc of India. "We have large investments coming from GCC countries. We already have a FTA with UAEThe GCC countries led by Saudi Arabia have expressed the desire to quickly get back on the negotiating table to discuss potential agreements with the GCC countries. Many GCC member nations have also approached India individually with the request to enter into a bilateral agreement," he told reporters here. The minister is here for the G20 trade and investment ministerial meeting. Among the economic regions, GCC is the top source of imports. Imports from GC

India, Asean agree to speed up negotiations to conclude FTA review in 2025

India and the 10-nation bloc Asean have agreed to fast track negotiations for the review of the existing free trade agreement in goods between the two regions and conclude the talks in 2025, an official statement said on Monday. The issue was discussed during the twentieth AEM (Asean Economic Ministers)-India Consultation meeting, held at Semarang, Indonesia. The commerce ministry said that the main agenda of this year's meeting was the timely review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which was signed in 2009 and implemented in January 2010. The economic ministers' meeting was preceded by AITIGA Joint Committee meeting, which deliberated the roadmap for the review and finalised the term of reference and the work plan of the review negotiations. The review of the AITIGA was a long-standing demand of Indian businesses and the early commencement of the review would help in making the FTA trade facilitative and mutually beneficial, it said. "The ministers agreed to follo

India, Asean to intensify efforts to wrap up trade agreement review by 2025

India and the 10-nation bloc Asean on Monday said they have directed their officials to intensify their efforts to conclude the review of the existing free trade agreement in goods between the two regions by 2025. The issue was discussed during the twentieth AEM (Asean Economic Ministers)-India Consultation meeting, held at Semarang, Indonesia. According to a joint media statement, the meeting welcomed the progress of the review of the Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA). It also endorsed the term of reference of the AITIGA Joint Committee, the Work Plan of the review negotiations and the negotiating structure. Both sides agreed to make the agreement more user-friendly, simple and trade facilitative for businesses to increase trade and support sustainable and inclusive growth. "To this end, the meeting encouraged the officials to intensify their efforts with the aim of achieving a substantial conclusion of the review in 2025," the statement said. The consultation was ..

High-level meetings on FTA between India, UK scheduled for next week

High-level meetings of ministers and top officials of India and the UK are scheduled next week to review the progress of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, a senior government official said on Friday. The meetings assume significance as both countries have reached a crucial juncture of the FTA negotiations. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal also said that bilateral meetings will also be held with the official teams of the European Union (EU) and Canada. These teams are coming for the two-day Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) in Jaipur. It is commencing on August 24. High-level bilateral meetings will be held with countries such as the UK, Canada and EU to discuss progress with regard to proposed free trade agreements, he told reporters here while briefing about the TIMM. Negotiations on such agreements are underway with all these countries. "This G20 ministerial meeting is useful for us to conduct some of the important bilat

Govt hopes to close India-UK free trade agreement issues by month-end

The 12th round of talks between the countries is in progress here and is expected to continue until at least 28 August

India looking at FTAs for strategic considerations also: Commerce Secretary

India is looking at Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) not only from the trade point of view but also keeping in mind the country's strategic needs, especially with regard to the smooth supply of critical minerals, a top government official said on Monday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that India is now looking at FTAs from the point of view of what is the country's strategic needs in addition to trade. For instance, batteries in electric vehicles require critical minerals. India is in talks with Australia for its smooth supplies. South American nations of Peru and Chile also have huge reserves of the critical minerals. India is looking at commencing negotiations for an FTA with Peru and Chile also has expressed interest for a trade pact. "So, in addition to trade, now, we are looking at FTAs from the point of view of our strategic considerations. So, that is the fresh approach that we are taking in our FTAs," Barthwal told reporters here. Normally in a trade agreement, two or

Govt reviewing FTAs with ASEAN, Korea: MoS Patel informed Parliament

The government is closely monitoring all the free trade agreements which it has signed and based on stakeholder consultations, existing FTAs with ASEAN and Korea are being reviewed, Parliament was informed on Friday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said the government is negotiating FTAs with the European Union, the UK, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Canada. These negotiations or its review are a long-drawn process and the timeline for completion of such negotiations cannot be predicted since the parties to the negotiations are required to agree to the outcome, she said. "India has signed 13 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and 6 Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with its trading partners...The government is closely monitoring these FTAs and based on stakeholder consultations, the experience and assessments thereof, the government is in the process of reviewing its existing FTAs with ASEAN and Korea," the

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

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, Britain could sign free trade agreement this year: Trade ministry

New Delhi sees an FTA with Britain as crucial to hopes of becoming a bigger exporter, while the UK would obtain wider access for its whisky, premium cars and legal services

FTAs: Learning from peers

India should emulate its peers and adopt more flexible negotiating approaches in its FTAs

UK-India FTA to provide fair level playing field: Chivas Brothers

Chivas Brothers, a leading manufacturer of Scotch whiskey, expects the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and India would provide a "fair level playing field" on customs duties for liquor companies, its Chairman and CEO Jean Etienne Gourgues said. He also said that the proposed agreement may also help increase investments and promote domestic manufacturing of premium liquor in India. The two countries have been negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) since January 2021 and senior officials of both sides concluded the 11th round of negotiations. Currently, Scotch whiskey, imported from the UK - both in bottled and bulk - is taxed at around 150 per cent in India, however, if the pact between the two governments is signed, then it would provide liberalisation in tariff and will be a 'win-win' for both India and the UK, he added. Our expectation is a fair level playing field between India and the UK. When we export scotch whisky to India, we pay a very high tax of over 150

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

India-UK FTA: Goyal, Badenoch discuss thorny issues in negotiations

India and the UK began negotiations on the FTA in January 2022, and set a Diwali deadline last year for the trade pact