Page 2 - Fta

Bimstec members must consider phase-wise FTA for faster implementation: CII

The study also said that Bimstec countries have built a range of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements

India free-trade agreement with Oman hits market-access roadblock

Differences over access to petrochemical products major bone of contention

Goyal says industry's demand for protection may derail UK, EU FTA talks

India and the UK have been negotiating a trade agreement for over two-and-a-half years

FTA talks with Japan, Korea, Asean moving slow, India still pursuing: Goyal

The negotiations to review the free trade agreements (FTAs) implemented with Japan, Korea, and Asean are moving slow but India is pursuing those talks, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He said these agreements were signed and implemented during the UPA regime. These pacts are hurting the domestic industry and almost all firms stated that they are "unfair" agreements, Goyal said. "I am helpless as those agreements (came into effect) before we came to power. I am helpless to change it until we close the negotiations. "We are under re-negotiations but obviously when they (Japan, Korea, Asean) realise that the Congress's agreement was better for them (Japan, Korea, Asean), they are happier to keep that rather than change the agreements... they are going very slow, (but) we are also pursuing," he said while speaking at a CII programme on Viksit Bharat. Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is one of the major trade partners of India, with a share of

India-UK FTA: UKIBC chief Mccole hopeful of signing some deal quickly

Reiterating the UK Foreign Secretary's statement, he noted that David Lammy sees FTA as a "floor" for both countries' trade and investment relationship

India-UK unveil futuristic Technology Security Initiative; to seal FTA soon

India and the UK on Wednesday firmed up a landmark technology security initiative that sets out a bold new approach for collaboration in a range of "priority" sectors including telecom, critical minerals, semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with a broader aim to elevate their strategic partnership to the next level. The decision on the UK-India Technology Security Initiative was made public following wide-ranging talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting British counterpart David Lammy. In the discussions, both sides appreciated the "substantial" progress made in the India-UK FTA negotiations and looked forward to its "early conclusion" to achieve a mutually beneficial deal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It is learnt that the Indian side, during the talks, flagged its concerns over activities of pro-Khalistan elements in the UK while the British side raised the issue of Christian Michel, the key accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP ..

India-UK FTA negotiations floor not ceiling of ambitions: David Lammy

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday began a two-day visit to India to galvanise negotiations for an ambitious Free Trade Agreement and reset the overall bilateral partnership in crucial areas such as clean energy, new technologies and security. As he embarked on the high-profile trip, Lammy described the negotiations for the trade deal as the floor and not the ceiling of the ambitions to unlock shared potential and deliver growth. The British foreign secretary's visit to New Delhi is the first high-level engagement between India and the UK after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government came to power on July 5. "India is the emerging superpower of the 21st century, the largest country in the world with 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest growing economies in the world," Lammy said. "Our Free Trade Agreement negotiations is the floor not the ceiling of our ambitions to unlock our shared potential and deliver growth, from Bengaluru to Birmingham," he said.

India FTA talks set to be revived with first major UK ministerial visit

The renewed parameters of the India-UK free trade agreement negotiations are set to be defined this week as UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected in India on Tuesday, the first high-profile visit under the newly elected Labour government in Britain. The free trade agreement (FTA) talks began in January 2022, under the then Conservative government, with a target to significantly boost the GBP 38.1 billion a year bilateral trading partnership but hit a block in the fourteenth round of negotiations to make way for general elections in both countries. A report in The Daily Telegraph' on Sunday quotes a New Delhi source to claim the Indian side would seek clarity on whether the Labour government intends to pick things up from where they were left off or start afresh in some way. India is keen to resume talks on a positive note, but the date needs clarity, the source told the newspaper. The trade deal was at the final stage in the previous government, and we want to see whether th

Local currency trade, exports, FTA will boost India-Russia commerce: GTRI

Steps such as increasing exports, making local currency trading workable and a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union will help boost trade between India and Russia, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. India should not worry over the trade deficit, as it is getting crude petroleum oil at cheaper than market rates from Russia and it is also cutting India's overall oil import bill, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. Since the Ukraine war began in February 2022 and the US imposed sanctions on Russia, the trade relationship between India and Russia has shifted significantly. There has been a sharp increase in imports from Russia, resulting in a notable trade imbalance. Exports during the financial year 2020-21 and 2023-24 grew by 59 per cent, while imports surged by about 8,300 per cent, the report said, adding the trade deficit rose from USD 2.8 billion before the war in 2020-21 to USD 57.2 billion at present. It said that the import surge is solely due to

'India, Eurasian Economic Union finalizing broad contours for proposed FTA'

India and the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union bloc are working to finalise broad contours and their terms of reference on a proposed free trade agreement, an official said. The five members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Anant Swarup said that on the EEU proposed free trade agreement (FTA), chief negotiators of both sides have already met and broad contours are being finalised. "Scope and the ToRs (terms of reference) of the proposed free trade agreement are under stakeholder consultation internally in India and same with Russia and soon it will be exchanged so that the next steps can take place," he told reporters here. On the timeline for both sides to formally launch negotiations for the pact, he said that unless there is an understanding on the ToR, the launch date is premature to be decided. In such agreements, two or more trading partners either eliminate or

'Commerce ministry in talks with South Korea to upgrade existing FTA'

With talks to upgrade the existing free trade agreement (FTA) moving forward between India and Korea, the department of commerce is engaging with different ministries, including heavy industries, steel, and chemicals, to prepare the offer list, an official said. Preparation of the list is part of the negotiations, which are underway, for the upgrade of the existing FTA between the two countries, dubbed as comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). The agreement was operationalised in January 2010. So far, 10 rounds of talks have been concluded. The official said both sides have exchanged the request list and "are working on the offer list" and for that the commerce ministry is holding discussions with different ministries, including steel, heavy industries, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals. India has sought greater market access for certain products such as steel, rice, and shrimp from South Korea with a view to boost exports of these goods, the official added. Ind

Gold, silver import from UAE surges 210%, need duty revision in FTA: GTRI

India's gold and silver imports from its free trade agreement (FTA) partner UAE have skyrocketed 210 per cent to USD 10.7 billion in 2023-24 and there is a need to potentially revise the concessional customs duty rates under the pact to mitigate the arbitrage driving this surge, a report said on Monday. Economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said this sharp rise in gold and silver imports is primarily driven by import duty concessions granted by India to the UAE under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). India allows 7 per cent tariffs or customs duty concessions on import of unlimited quantities of silver and a 1 per cent concession on 160 metric tonnes of gold. CEPA was signed in February 2022 and implemented in May 2022. Additionally, India facilitates gold and silver imports by allowing private firms to import from the UAE through the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) in Gift City. Previously, only authorised agencies

India may sign FTA with Oman in first 100 days of PM Modi's third term

This free trade agreement with Oman will mark the first significant bilateral deal of Modi's third term as Prime Minister of India

Govt restricts import of gold jewellery and parts amid unusual surge

The jump in imports has been the sharpest in the case of gold jewellery parts that saw 30 times jump to $1.55 billion in FY24 from $51.51 million a year ago

Georgia reaches out to India to begin free-trade agreement talks

India and Georgia have discussed the possibility of a trade deal for over seven years now

MCA working on developing SOPs for FTA strategy, trade negotiation

The commerce ministry held deliberations with experts, former officers and senior officials from different departments on framing a standard operating procedure for free trade pacts and other related issues under these agreements, an official release said on Tuesday. The commerce ministry in the release stated that the 'Chintan Shivir' was organised on May 16-17 at Neemrana, Rajasthan. "The Shivir facilitated discussions on various issues related to negotiations of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) by India, its position and strategy that should be adopted for such negotiations," the ministry said. The participants also deliberated on standard operating procedures (SoP) for FTA negotiations, capacity building and resource management for trade negotiations as well as certain contemporary issues under modern FTAs such as labour, environment, and gender. It said that Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal spearheaded the deliberations which sought to chart a strategic course for India's future

IGF to spotlight UK-India ties as bridge between polls in both countries

The annual India Global Forum (IGF) in London is set to spotlight UK-India strategic ties bridged between general elections in both countries next month, with a line up of senior ministers, entrepreneurs and analysts weighing up the future trajectory of bilateral ties under newly elected governments. IGF London, confirmed this week to be held between June 24 and 28, will cover the full spectrum of the partnership including the course of the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations. The India-UK FTA talks began in January 2022 and are now stalled in the fourteenth round of talks as both countries stepped into their general election cycles this year. Regardless of which governments come to power, a series of opportunities, and certainly challenges, await them; that's why IGF London 2024 is set to be a crucial event in the diary, serving as a major economic and geopolitical stocktake, offering vital insights and informing the strategic direction for any new administration, said Manoj ...

UK's July general election: It's impact on India FTA, Indo-Pacific tilt

As the campaign for the UK general election gathers momentum after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised many this week with a snap summer poll on July 4, exactly a month after India's election results on June 4, the prospect of an India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) has been kicked into the long grass. While political analysts and strategic experts have expressed confidence that very little should change on the bilateral relationship front whatever the outcome in either election, the very small window that was open for a deal being clinched by the Sunak-led Tory government has now been swept away in the election wave of both countries. The Opposition Labour Party, in the lead in most pre-election surveys, has committed itself to finish the job but the timelines will remain uncertain for some time. Rishi Sunak's shock poll date announcement of July 4 has skewered any prospect of the finalisation of the long-awaited and much-anticipated FTA with India by a Conservative ...

India's tyre capacity sufficient, no need for liberalising imports: ATMA

India has sufficient tyre manufacturing capacity and imports should not be liberalised through FTAs by way of duty concessions, industry body Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association said on Monday. The automotive tyres rank at the forefront of those sectors where domestic manufacturing capabilities can render imports unnecessary, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) has communicated to the Centre. This was in response to the government seeking feedback about sectors in which India has capabilities to be self-reliant so that upcoming FTAs could be drafted while safeguarding the interests of domestic industry, ATMA said in a statement. The industry body has pointed out that imports should not be liberalised through FTAs by way of duty concessions. India's domestic tyre industry, among the largest in the world, has an annual production exceeding 200 million units across various categories including two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and off-road ...

Commerce ministry holds discussions on formulating SOPs to negotiate FTAs

The commerce ministry has held detailed discussions with senior officials of different departments and trade experts on formulating standard operating procedures (SOP) for negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs), an official said. To discuss the various aspects of these agreements, the commerce ministry has organised a two-day 'Chintan Shivir' on FTA strategy and SOPs for trade negotiations on May 16-17. Suggestions that came up during the discussions included comprehensive consultations with public and private sector players and sharing details of the proposed FTAs with the line ministries, the official said. "Consultations should be held at every stage of FTA negotiations. Representatives of certain ministries suggested the commerce ministry to share FTA details with them in a timely manner so that they can prepare their views on those agreements," the official added. The exercise assumes significance as India is engaging with several trade partners to negotiate free trade ...