Latest news with #LSatyaSrinivas
Mint
5 days ago
- Business
- Mint
India-EU trade talks: Optimism in the air as next round scheduled for September — what is on the table?
India and the European Union (EU) are preparing to hold the next round of negotiations on their proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in September. This development comes as both sides exchanged offers related to the services sector last week, an official confirmed on Tuesday. L Satya Srinivas, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, said that the 12th round of talks recently concluded in Brussels, reported PTI. "We have exchanged our offers on services and non-services,' he said, adding, 'We also discussed key interests in market access related to goods as well.' The upcoming 13th round of talks will be held in the first week of September, Srinivas confirmed. In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications (GIs) after an eight-year hiatus. The talks had stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up of the markets, the news agency reported. Both sides are optimistic, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission president agreeing on February 28 to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by the end of this year. The EU has already pushed for significant duty cuts on items such as automobiles and medical devices. Other than that, the bloc has also demanded tax reduction on products such as wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime. If the pact is concluded successfully, Indian goods exports to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive. The India-EU trade pact negotiations are comprehensive, covering over 23 policy areas. These include Trade in Goods and Services Investment Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Technical Barriers to Trade Trade Remedies Rules of Origin Customs and Trade Facilitation Competition Trade Defence Government Procurement Dispute Settlement Intellectual Property Rights Geographical Indications (GIs) Sustainable Development The EU stands as India's largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral trade reaching $137.41 billion in 2023-24. The figure includes exports worth $75.92 billion and imports worth $61.48 billion. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, while the EU's exports to India make up 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments. Additionally, the bilateral trade in services between India and the EU was estimated at $51.45 billion in 2023, the news agency reported.
Daily Tribune
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
India-UK FTA likely to be signed by July-end
TDT | agencies India and the UK are aiming to sign their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by July-end, as legal teams from both sides work overtime to get the formal text of the pact ready. To give directions to the officials involved in the last mile formalities, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal and additional secretary L Satya Srinivas will be in London for the next two days. They will also be holding meetings with their counterparts from the UK and UK secretary of state for trade and business Jonathan Reynolds. The visit of the top officials of the Department of Commerce follows the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to the UK last week. Goyal met his counterpart Reynolds and both sides also held a negotiation meeting and reviewed the progress prior to the signing. The Indian legal team is also in London for the legal scrubbing of the text. The conclusion of FTA negotiations between India and the UK was announced on May 6. Earlier officials said that it might take three months to get the text of the FTA ready for signing. After the agreement is signed it will be made public. Then it has to be ratified by both countries before it comes into force. In the UK the ratification is done by the Parliament and this process could take up to a year. For India the ratification of agreements is done by the cabinet. So it could take up to 15 months from now for the FTA to become operational. The FTA will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products from India such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper. Through the FTA both sides are aiming to double their trade to $ 120 billion by 2030. The pact will also liberalise services trade and make the movement of professionals easier. Along with FTA, the social security agreement or Double Contribution Contributions Convention has also been agreed to. Both sides are now engaged in finalising the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
