India-UK FTA talks at advanced stage; India-EU FTA talks this month

16 Feb '24

1 min read

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Talks regarding a proposed India-UK FTA are at an advanced stage, and both sides are busy sorting out differences on the remaining issues, a top Indian government official recently said.
The negotiations are taking time as India wants to safeguard its interests.
The 7th round of talks on the planned India-EU FTA is scheduled from February 19 to 23 in New Delhi.

Talks between the United Kingdom and India regarding a proposed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) are at an advanced stage, and both sides are busy sorting out differences on the remaining issues, according to India’s commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal.

The 14th round of talks on the FTA started on January 10.

The negotiations are taking time as India wants to safeguard its interests, the official said.

"India should commercially gain out of it and we should also be able to safeguard the interest of our farmers, PLI (production linked incentive) scheme goods. So, we are there to see that the deal is a fair deal," he told reporters in New Delhi recently.

India-UK trade rose to $20.36 billion in fiscal 2022-23 from $17.5 billion in fiscal 2021-22.

The seventh round of talks on the planned India-European Union (EU) FTA is scheduled from February 19 to 23 in New Delhi.

On the India-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), legal scrubbing of the text on clean and fair economy clauses is under way, additional secretary in the ministry Rajesh Agrawal said. The supply chain resilience pact will come into force from February 24 this year, he added.

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