Page 7 - Fta

India, EU aim to finalise FTA by end of this year, says Jaishankar

Jaishankar, who is in France as part of his three-nation visit, said India also seeks to conclude a defence and security partnership with the European Union

Imports under FTAs can be cleared under the provisional assessment

Rajagopalan answers readers' SME queries related to GST, export and import matters

Icra projects 6-8% growth for hospitality, downgrades outlook to 'stable'

Growth of India's hospitality sector is expected to "normalise" at 6-8 per cent in the current financial year, rating agency Icra said on Monday while downgrading the sectoral outlook to "stable" from positive. The rating agency also stated that foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) to India are expected to remain muted in the next few months in the aftermath of the terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, but are estimated to witness a gradual recovery thereafter. However, domestic tourism has been the prime demand driver so far and is likely to remain the same in the near term. Factors, including improvement in infrastructure and air connectivity, favourable demographics, and anticipated growth in large-scale MICE events, with the opening of multiple new convention centres in the last few years, will support the growth over the medium term, Icra said. According to the rating agency, the domestic hospitality sector's earnings and credit metrics are expected to remain stable in ..

Pursue trade deals, but focus equally on enhancing industry competitiveness

India retaliated against some ill-considered statements and actions by the Bangladesh government by closing its land borders for import of some goods from that country

UK to give non-discriminatory treatment to India in procurement under FTA

The UK for the first time has agreed to accord non-discriminatory treatment to Indian companies in its public procurement system under the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, an official said. On May 6, the two announced conclusion of negotiations for the FTA. It will be implemented next year. "For the first time, UK agreed to take binding commitment to provide non-discriminatory treatment to our suppliers under UK's Social Value regime in their public procurement system," the official said. Under the UK's Social Value law, the British government departments require public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental well-being in connection with public services contracts. According to the UK government, the trade pact will give UK businesses "unique and unprecedented" access to India's public procurement market, comprising about 40,000 tenders with a value of at least 38 billion pounds a year. On the other hand, India has agreed to allow Brit

Diageo to cut Scotch prices in India as UK FTA halves import duties

Duties on UK-made whisky and gin will drop from 150% to 75%, and then to 40% over 10 years under India-UK Free Trade Agreement; Diageo to pass on savings

UK FTA: India may leave Pakistan, Türkiye behind in textile exports

India's apparel and home textiles shipments to the UK attract an 8-12 per cent import duty, that would be scrapped under the FTA expected to come into force in calendar year 2026

Medtech industry seeks FTA advisory board to counter non-tariff barriers

Industry groups want a joint FTA advisory body to address regulatory hurdles and dumping risks as India negotiates trade deals with the US, EU and UK

FTAs: It is time for India to pause and reassess its trade strategy

While the full FTA text remains undisclosed, publicly available details reveal signs of concern. This write-up flags three key issues

India, EU to hold next round of FTA talks from Monday for early conclusion

India and the European Union (EU) chief negotiators will begin the next round of talks on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) here from Monday, with an aim to conclude the first phase of the pact as early as possible, according to an official. The two sides have agreed to conclude the agreement in two phases on account of the uncertain global trade environment, particularly due to the US tariff actions under President Donald Trump. "The EU team will be here for the 11th round of negotiations. It will continue till May 16," the official said. Issues where there is convergence would be included in the first part of the agreement. They are aiming to conclude the second part by the end of this year. Talks for the previous (tenth) round focused on areas like market access offers in goods, services, investment and government procurement. India has followed the practice of negotiating trade pacts in two phases with Australia. It is following a similar approach to the US. Commerce ..

US seeks greater India market access for its data centre companies

May negotiate favourable conditions under BTA

No duty cuts on UK wines in India FTA; limited relief for British beer

India is not giving any duty concessions on British wines and is providing only limited import duty benefits on UK beer under the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, announced on May 6, an official said. The other sensitive agri products where India will not offer any reduction in the import duty include dairy products, apple, cheese, oats, animals and vegetable oils under the agreement with the United Kingdom. "Wine is on the exclusion list, along with several other agricultural products in the trade pact. We are also offering only a limited duty concession on British beer," the official said. India and the UK on May 6 announced the conclusion of the free trade agreement which will make British Scotch whiskey and cars cheaper in India, while reducing duties on Indian imports such as garments and leather products here. As per the agreement, India will reduce duty on UK whiskey and gin from 150 per cent to 75 per cent and further to 40 per cent in the tenth year of

'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

Smartphones, electric vehicles off limits in India-UK free trade agreement

Government officials said that while the deal was concluded on Tuesday, implementation could take over 15 months

Free trade agreement fix: Liquor industry red flags UK maturation norms

According to the UK and European Union (EU) regulations, a spirit must be matured for a minimum of three years in wooden casks to be legally defined and sold as "whisky."

UK trade deal likely to serve as model for India's FTAs with EU, US

The long-pending deal with the UK was finalised on Tuesday

Step forward for trade: India-UK FTA is more comprehensive than expected

Whitehall has suggested the FTA will lead to an additional increase of 10 basis points in the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate every year

India-UK FTA highlights: Whiskey, luxury cars set to get cheaper

As the world watched India’s bold military action under ‘Operation Sindoor’, the country made an equally calculated and impactful move on the global economic stage.

FTA with UK to help double garment exports to Britain in 3 years: AEPC

The free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK will help double India's ready-made garment exports to Britain in the next three years, AEPC said on Wednesday. Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Sudhir Sekhri said that against the backdrop of demand contraction in major economies, Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Hamas war, American reciprocal tariff and Chinese belligerence, there was uncertainty and disruption impacting the global trade adversely. "This deal has come as a boon, removing immediately tariff disadvantage of 9.6 per cent and making us competitive in the UK market. Now the Made in India ready-made garment will be cheaper on UK shelves and we will be at par with some of our major competitors who enjoyed duty-free access in the UK market," he said. India is the fourth largest supplier of garments with a 6.1 per cent share of the total RMG import of the UK. The exports to the UK from India grew 7.8 per cent to USD 1.4 billion in 2024-25. "With this deal in place

Scotch whiskey to get cheaper in India as import duty slashed under UK FTA

India-UK trade pact to halve Scotch whisky import duty to 75 per cent initially, then 40 per cent over 10 years; move expected to cut prices, boost exports, FDI, and premium brand access