Page 6 - Free Trade Agreements

Impasse broken to get India FTA talks back on track, says UK trade minister

Britain's trade minister in charge of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India on Tuesday admitted the talks had hit a "bit of an impasse, which she broke by flying to New Delhi last month. UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the deal is now "back on track", in an apparent reference to the Diwali 2022 deadline for the FTA set by former prime minister Boris Johnson being missed last October amid political turmoil in Britain. Addressing Lancaster House in London in a speech laying out her Top five priorities for trade", the minister insisted that she was a problem solver at heart and is confident a "high quality" deal will be struck with India. "Some of you will know I was a software engineer and a systems analyst before I became a politician. That means I'm a problem solver at heart," Badenoch told the business gathering. "So when our Indian trade talks hit a bit of an impasse, I didn't pick up the phone, I got on a plane. That deal's not done yet, but it's back on trac

Won't allow sensitive issues to scuttle India-UK trade talks: Piyush Goyal

"With Canada, while they are also not much of a manufacturing base, we have to go into more details. With the UK, it's a manufacturing country on many products. So we have to do it very carefully"

US agriculture associations fear market loss to India's FTA partners

In June 2019, India hiked tariffs on 28 items exported by the US, including almonds, apples, walnuts

India's ongoing FTA negotiations with EU, UK are on track: Govt official

All these issues require a lot of unanimity among the negotiating countries and these talks are complex exercises

FTA will act as catalyst to fulfill huge trade potential with India: Israel

Bernstein-Reich, who also holds the position of Chairperson of the Israel-India and Sri Lanka Chambers within the Israel-Asia Chamber, will continue in that role

India, US 'thinking big', says Goyal, rules out mini trade deal or FTA

The Modi government and the Biden administration are "thinking big" in terms of their trade and commerce relationship, a top Indian official said Wednesday as he ruled out the previously talked about mini trade deal or a free trade agreement and noted that revoking of GSP is not a priority for New Delhi. The previous Trump administration has revoked the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) from India. The GSP allows eligible developing countries to export duty-free goods to the US. It is during the previous administration as well that the two countries were on the verge of a mini trade deal, which has now been kicked out of the table. The Biden administration is also not in favour of a free trade agreement which businesses from either side are now talking about. "I think in terms of GSP, I have not heard any significant clamour from the Indian industry. To focus our energies on the GSP issue, I have raised it today with my counterparts," Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyus

India can tap Switzerland's innovation with FTA, says Ralf Heckner

The objective of the Swiss government when it comes to the Swiss financial centre is twofold - sustainability and that all countries should adhere to the same international standards

India-Australia trade agreement to greatly benefit MSMEs: Piyush Goyal

The interim pact between India and Australia, also known as Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), has the potential to double bilateral trade to $50 billion in half a decade

Australia FTA: Wine industry gears up for foreign market's entry in India

The duty cut regime on Australian wine under the recent trade agreement strikes a balance between protecting the domestic industry and opening the path for greater investments and tie-ups

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 has signed 13 FTAs, 6 preferential pacts so far, says union minister

India has signed 13 free trade agreements (FTAs) and six preferential pacts so far with its trading partners for ensuring greater market access for domestic goods and promoting exports, Union minister Anupriya Patel said on Wednesday. The country has recently signed three such agreements with Mauritius, the UAE and Australia. Further, India is also actively engaged in FTA negotiations with some of its trading partners including the UK, European Union and Canada. Trade negotiations with partner countries is a dynamic and continuous process for obtaining better market access for India's exports and other business opportunities, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "India has so far signed 13 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and six Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with its trading partners for preferential access for its products," she said. In a separate reply, the minister said that six rounds of negotiations have bee

India will aim to achieve $100 bn export target for textiles by 2030: Goyal

Citing the case of the FTA negotiations with the United Kingdom, Goyal said the country had a 9 per cent duty on different items and if that goes away, it will benefit the sector, he said

Top Headlines: Tax levy on SUVs, tighter service norms for telcos, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

India and UK look to fast-track free trade agreement negotiations

Sixth round of negotiations begins in New Delhi after a four-month hiatus

Budget 2023-24: Govt mulls basic Customs duty cut to align with FTA

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget on February 1, 2023, in Parliament, outlining her tax and expenditure plans for 2023-24

Sixth round of India-UK free trade agreement talks to begin from Dec 12

The sixth round of negotiations between senior officials of India and the UK for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) will begin here on Monday with an aim to conclude the talks at the earliest, an official said. The negotiations are happening after a brief gap due to recent political developments in the UK. The last round of talks was held on July 29. "The sixth round of talks are starting from December 12," the official said. Trade in goods, including passenger vehicles, is one of the areas under the negotiations, which started on January 13, 2022. In a free trade agreement, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. The UK side is demanding duty concessions in the automobile sector. Last month, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the agreement is a high priority for both countries. He added that things are progressing well and it will yield good results. "We are all very well aware th

Will push for early India-EU FTA under our presidency, says Sweden

Weeks before Sweden takes over the presidency of European Union, Swedish foreign trade minister Johan Forssell on Friday said pushing for an early finalisation of the India-EU free trade agreement will be one of the key priorities of his country's year-long tenure at the 27-nation. He said Sweden will act as an "honest broker" and do its best to conclude the negotiations for the FTA as it will be in "everyone's interest". The minister described India's procurement of crude oil from Russia amid the Ukraine conflict as part of domestic policies, saying every country must make their own decisions. "I have not come here to tell you what to do. The war has affected Europe in many ways, especially in the energy situation. Every country must make their own decisions and I totally agree with Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi saying that this is no time for war," he said while interacting with a group of journalists. "We very much hope for the war to end and hopefully very soon because there a

We see trade with India growing two-fold in next 5 years: Ontario minister

In a Q&A, Victor Fedeli says several top Indian companies are continuing to build their presence in the Canadian province despite concerns of tighter global financial conditions

FTAs and their discontents: Do free trade agreements benefit India?

India's balance of trade has worsened with countries with which it has signed free trade agreements

If delay in FTA talks, GCC nations can join India-UAE trade deal

The clause was added to the agreement to encourage other countries to join the pact, making it a regional agreement, the sources said