News of

Market News

India-UK to start fifth round of FTA negotiations in July.
Jun 29, 2022

India and UK concluded the fourth round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations closing 11 out of the 26 chapters, a commerce ministry official said on Monday, adding that both the countries will begin the fifth round next month.

The trade negotiations with the UK assume special significance for the domestic textile sectors as duty-free textile exports would bring the Indian textile industry at par with major textile exporters such as Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Government officials said that the India and UK FTA trade negotiations that began in January this year will for the first time cover issues ranging from gender, labour and environment and not tariffs on merchandise goods.

'For this round of negotiations, detailed draft treaty text was advanced across the majority of chapters. Technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 71 separate sessions covering 20 policy areas,' the joint statement released by the British High Commission stated.

The commission added that the negotiation officials undertook these technical talks in a hybrid fashion – with some of the teams meeting in London and most officials joining virtually.

The agreement is estimated to double India-UK bilateral trade to about $100 billion by 2030. Besides, the pact aims to cover 65% of goods and up to 40% of services, with the coverage in goods expected to go up to 90% in the full agreement.

Mint had reported that India and the UK had covered significant ground in the last two rounds with the UK agreeing to eliminate duty on rice and textile goods, while India is likely to allow the duty-free entry of British apples, and UK-manufactured medical devices, and machinery.

livemint.com

Trade Leads

Directory's

APEDA Agri Exchange

News & Analysis

Contact

Trade Leads

Directory's

APEDA Agri Exchange

News & Analysis

Follow Us

Contact