Next Round Of Talks For India-UK Trade Agreement In Coming Months
NDTV
India and the EU on June 17 this year formally resumed negotiations on the proposed agreement, after a gap of over eight years.
The next round of talks between India and the UK on a proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting trade and investments between the two regions, is proposed to be held in the coming months, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.
India and Britain launched negotiations for the free-trade agreement (FTA) in January with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali (October 24), but the deadline was missed due to political developments in the UK. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.
According to sources, the ministry has now fixed an internal deadline to conclude the talks on the trade agreement by March next year.
Reduction or elimination of customs duty under the pact would help Indian labour intensive sectors like textiles, leather, and gems and jewellery to boost exports in the UK market. The UK is seeking duty concessions in areas like Scotch whiskey and automobiles.
