‘speaking terms. We are on track,’ says commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal.
‘speaking terms. We are on track,’ says commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal.
negotiation for proposed Trade Agreement between India and the United Kingdom We are moving in the right direction, and the two sides are expected to reach an agreement soon, a top government official said on Thursday, October 20, 2022.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the interlocutors finalized many things And many aspects are yet to be finalised.
“So, we are moving in the right direction… the talks are on. We are on the right track,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the CII National Exports Summit.
Diwali deadline missed
India and the UK are negotiating an agreement to promote trade and investment between the countries. Both were aiming to conclude the talks by Diwali (October 24), but the negotiators are missing the deadline.
Asked about the new target, Mr. Barthwal said it depends on the pace of talks.
“Therefore, we are progressing very well and we hope to reach an agreement soon,” he said.
In January, the two countries formally began negotiations for a free trade agreement to boost bilateral trade and investment.
In such agreements, two countries eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of trades between them, in addition to easing norms to promote investment and services trade.
The UK is also a major investor in India. New Delhi has attracted foreign direct investment of $1.64 billion in 2021-22. Between April 2000 and March 2022 this figure was about $32 billion.
India’s main exports to the UK include ready-made garments and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transport equipment and parts, spices, metal products, machinery and equipment, pharma and marine goods.
Major imports include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scrap, engineering goods, professional equipment, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and machinery.
In the services sector, the UK is one of the largest markets in Europe for Indian IT services.
Bilateral trade has increased to $17.5 billion in 2021-22 as compared to $13.2 billion in 2020-21. India’s exports stood at $10.5 billion in 2021-22, while imports stood at $7 billion.