Page 2 - Free Trade Agreements

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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

Statsguru: Six charts show India is rapidly on FTA-signing spree

The Australian Parliament ratified the ECTA with India on November 22, as a stepping stone to a more ambitious CECA

RBI, UAE central bank discuss mechanism to trade in local currencies

Negotiations between India-GCC FTA expected in Jan-March quarter

ECTA: The dawn of a new era in Indo-Aus relations

Indian exports and manufacturing will be equally benefited with the duty-free import of raw materials from Australia for their competitiveness

Australian Parliament okays FTA with India; to help double bilateral trade

The agreement, once implemented, will provide duty-free access to the Australian market for over 6,000 broad sectors of India, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery

India-UK trade pact high priority; next round of talks slated in Dec: Goyal

The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK is a high priority for both the countries and the next round of negotiations for the pact is slated to happen next month, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He said that things are progressing well and it will yield good results. "We are all very well aware that it was progressing very fast until we had a little bit of a blip because of political happenings in the other country. Fortunately, we have a stable government. I believe in office now (in the UK) and I am already in touch with my (UK) counterpart. We are working together to possibly have an in person meeting also very soon but our teams are already engaged. Next month, the next round of negotiations are slated to happen," Goyal said here at a steel industry event. He said that industry support is required for the agreement and it should be a fair, equitable and balanced FTA. He also said that there should not be any strict timelines

UK starting to have second thoughts about Brexit as economy faces recession

More than six years after voting to leave the European Union, the UK is facing a prolonged recession and a deep cost-of-living crisis

FTAs don't always boost domestic manufacturing or speed export growth: GTRI

Countries negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) need to keep in mind eight "myths" which surround these pacts, like they lead to accelerated increase in exports and promote domestic manufacturing, according to a report by think-tank GTRI. The report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) claims to dispel these 'myths', including that FTAs weaken the WTO (World Trade Organisation), countries are rushing to do FTAs, and these pacts promote investment and lower prices. It is "erroneously" believed that most world trade happens through the FTA route, but in reality, it is less than 20 per cent, said the report titled 'FTAs: Fabulous, Futile, or Flawed?'. It is also not true that countries world over are rushing to do FTAs and in fact these pacts are "enthusiastically" embraced mainly by east Asian economies or countries that have lowered their customs duties close to zero. "Major industrial countries/regions do FTAs selectively. The USA has no FTA with significant economies like

Committed to working quickly on UK-India free trade agreement: Rishi Sunak

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the UK government remains committed to working as quickly as possible towards a successful conclusion to the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) talks with India, as the majority of the substantive negotiation conversations were completed at the end of last month. At a House of Commons session on the G20 Summit in Indonesia on Thursday, the British Indian leader updated Parliament that he reviewed progress on the FTA during his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi since taking charge at 10 Downing Street. He was questioned by Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer and his own Conservative Party MPs on the timeline for the completion of the agreement with India. I discussed the free trade agreement with India, and both the Prime Minister of India and I committed our teams to working as quickly as possible to see if we can bring a successful conclusion to the negotiations, said Sunak. Without negotiating all these things in publ

War, slowdown prompt Tiruppur exporters to explore alternate markets

Move follows 21% YoY dip in exports in October; some exporters believe things will improve in the coming months as yarn prices have declined and dollar rates are favourable

India to start talks for new FTA with a region next week: Piyush Goyal

India will be launching negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with a region next week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday. He said that negotiations are going on with countries, including the UK, European Union, Canada and Israel. "Next week, we will be launching one more very important FTA," Goyal said here at a function of consumer electronics. Though the minister did not disclose the name of the region, there is a likelihood that the talks may start with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the region was keen to increase economic engagement with India. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May this year. In a free trade agreement, two countries or regions either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on a maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they also ease norms to promote trade and .

Rishi Sunak won't sacrifice quality for speed on UK-India trade deal

Britain has completed most of the sections of a free trade agreement with India, Trade Minister Greg Hands said last month.

British officials may visit India next month for FTA talks: Govt sources

"It will take 3-4 months of steady negotiations to complete this agreement, with broad understanding over issues such as mobility and short-term work visas to the UK," the official said