Page 2 - Fta Talks

Europe is the saving grace for declining Indian exports in 2023

This was driven by demand for products such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, petroleum products, engineering products, machinery, as well as chemicals, government data showed

Round 14 of India-UK FTA talks put on hold ahead of election schedule

The 14th round of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK has now closed, with formal negotiations being put on hold as India heads into election campaign mode as the general election schedule is announced on Saturday. According to UK officials familiar with the discussions, a lot of progress has been made but the teams are not in a position to conclude an agreement which led to the Round 14 closing on Friday. The next round of formal trade talks can commence only after the Lok Sabha polls have concluded. The India-UK FTA negotiations, which opened in January 2022, are aimed at securing an ambitious outcome for bilateral trade currently worth around GBP 38.1 billion a year as per official statistics from last month. We anticipate that while some talks might happen between rounds, the next round of negotiations will take place after the Indian elections, official sources in the UK said. Neither side is walking away from talks. It's just that we don't h

Modi govt always keeps in mind long-term benefits of FTAs for India: Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that the Modi government always keeps in mind commensurate and long-term benefits for the domestic industry while negotiating free trade agreements. He stressed that "gone" are the days when India used to accept the terms of the world. "We crystal gaze into the future to make sure that its (FTAs) impact in the future will also be positive and we also look at balanced, fair and equitable FTAs," he told PTI in an interview. "So we can see the big Indian opportunity that we are offering and we want to make sure that we get commensurate benefits (from these pacts) for the country," he said. He indicated "some good news" on this front in the days to come. The remarks assume significance as India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc concluded the talks for an FTA. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The minister said that the free trade pacts of the Modi government involve a huge am

Lok Sabha polls nearing, PMO reviews UK free trade agreement progress

Officials say 'political call' now needed to fructify proposed deal

Switzerland and India reach deal on FTA after 16 years of negotiations

The agreement "will create jobs for the young population of India, and secure employment in Switzerland," Parmelin said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung

Likely pact with Oman comes as a welcome surprise in India's FTA drive

CEPA is also commonly referred to as a free trade agreement, or FTA. The next round of talks for it with Oman are scheduled to start on January 16

Ongoing India-UK FTA could be brought to successful conclusion: PM Sunak

Rajnath Singh and Rishi Sunak agreed on the need for the two nations to work together in trade, defence and technology sectors, Ministry of Defence said in a press release

Budget 2024-25: Bringing high spirits home on alcobev players' wish list

The Perfect Pour, a Mumbai-based wine and spirits consulting firm, urges the Budget to focus on a unified ecosystem, standardised pricing, and GST

Duty concessions on petrochemical products key in India-Oman FTA talks

Customs duty concession demand on petrochemical products such as polypropylene and polyethylene, used primarily in the plastics industry, may act as a sticking point in the early conclusion of talks for the proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and Oman, according to an official. Negotiations for the pact, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), are in the last phase. Certain domestic players from both public and private sectors are opposing duty concessions on these products under the agreement. They are claiming that Oman provides huge subsidies to its industry on raw materials for the production of these petrochemical products. According to them, if India would give duty concessions on these already subsidised products, it would be a double advantage for Omani firms. The government official said that they are holding talks with domestic players on the issue. Officials of the two countries concluded the second round of talks for th

India seeks bargains against UK's carbon border tax as part of FTA

Both countries hope to finalise the deal by February, before the Lok Sabha election in India

Scotch whiskey, EV may figure in 14th round of India-UK FTA talks in Jan

Issues like duty concessions on scotch whisky and electric vehicle (EV) and matters concerning the services sector, including mobility of skilled workers, may figure in the next round of proposed FTA talks between India and the UK in January, an official has said. The official also said that both sides have resolved most of the issues in the rules of origin and intellectual property rights (IPRs) chapters. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, including goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. Though the negotiations between the two countries have reached their last leg, both sides have yet to resolve differences on major issues like British demand for significant customs duty concessions on scotch whisky, and EVs and liberalisation of norms in services sectors like banking, insurance, legal, and Indian demand for easy movement of professionals, the official added. The two countries have concluded 13 rounds of talks, and the next round is scheduled in Januar

Global trade policy: A year-end stocktaking

Even as East Asian regionalism gives some hope, 2023 ends with growing apprehensions

India to begin FTA talks with Russia-led economic bloc in Jan: Jaishankar

India, Russia to step up discussions on an investment pact, multiple connectivity routes

EAM Jaishankar rejects criticism over delays in firming up India-UK FTA

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday took strong objection to those criticising New Delhi for delays in firming up the proposed free trade agreement with the UK and said careful scrutiny is required as such pacts could impact livelihoods of people. "I hear this naysayers' narrative coming back -- why isn't India quickly signing up (the FTA) with the UK? Nobody says why isn't the UK quickly signing up with India? So somewhere, it is like we have to make that accommodation," he said. The external affairs minister was speaking at a book release ceremony. India and the UK have been holding negotiations to firm up an ambitious FTA. The two sides are learnt to have finalised over 20 out of 26 chapters in the FTA and are now looking at sealing it by bridging differences on certain contentious issues including mobility of people and import duty concessions on certain items. In April last year, the two sides had set a Diwali deadline for concluding the free trade agreement but

Rolls-Royce widens role in India-UK Electric Propulsion capability talks

New Delhi and London are moving together purposefully to develop marine electric propulsion. This was evident in the second meeting of the India-UK EPCP-JWG, in New Delhi on November 21

Piyush Goyal discusses progress of FTA deal during EFTA delegation meet

The primary objective of these negotiations is to establish a "fair, mutually beneficial, and comprehensive" trade deal between India and EFTA

Indian officials in Muscat to negotiate free trade pact with Oman

It is learnt that the department of commerce has set an internal deadline of finalising the deal by month-end

India-Singapore FTA , as a part of Asean needs to be studied together: GTRI

Think-tank GTRI on Sunday suggested that the government study the bilateral free trade agreement with Singapore and as part of the Asean bloc together while reviewing its trade pact with the 10-nation grouping. Singapore is a member of 10-nation Asean bloc with which India has a free trade agreement in goods since 2010. Separately, India also implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with Singapore in 2005. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also suggested a similar exercise with Thailand, another member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). India signed a limited free trade pact with Thailand in 2006. These suggestions assume significance as India and Asean have agreed to review their trade pact and are aiming to conclude the exercise by 2025. Asean members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Out of these, five countries - Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand

India should be cautious on labour provisions in FTA negotiations: Experts

India needs to follow a cautious approach while negotiating labour provisions in free trade agreements (FTAs) as those could have potential repercussions on domestic manufacturing and overall trade competitiveness, experts say. International trade experts claimed that in a significant shift from its longstanding stance, India has begun to engage on labour issues in its trade negotiations with the UK, European Union, and the US-led Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Inclusion of these issues in trade pacts could have negative impacts, they said, adding that the recent US presidential memorandum of Joe Biden on worker rights indicates a deepening focus on labour standards in trade deals. Negotiations are on fast track with a comprehensive trade agreement with the UK, which seeks to promote trade in goods, services and two-way investments. Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) Ajay Srivastava said that such provisions could erode the competitive advant

India-Australia ECTA: 77% utilisation by Indian exporters in 9 months

In a free trade agreement (FTA), the utilisation rate is one of the key parameters to assess how a trade agreement is faring or the real gains from the deal