Internal deadline to close India-UK trade deal is March 2023: Government sources
The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday said that the next round of the India-UK FTA negotiations are slated for next month and India is aiming for the closure of a substantial number of chapters.
India's internal deadline to close the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is March 2023, government officials in the know told CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday, adding that this deadline is dependent on the ongoing negotiations.
The Union commerce ministry on Tuesday said that the next round of negotiations are slated for next month and India is aiming to close a substantial number of chapters.
The sources said that a lot of developments took place in the UK on October and 26 chapters were discussed on a threadbare basis.
On Monday, Alexander Ellis, UK High Commissioner to India, told CNBC-TV18 that negotiations on more than half the chapters in the India-UK FTA have been completed and now, the focus will be on concluding talks on the items at the core of the FTA, including goods, services and investor protection.
Ellis added that now they would be careful not to give specific timelines regarding FTA talks, but he senses an urgency that they need to get on with it now.
Meanwhile, the third round of the India-EU FTA talks have been scheduled in India from November 28 to December 9, and 75 sessions on 19 policy areas are on the table. The ongoing India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement's (CEPA) fifth round will end on November 18.
"FTAs with UK, the European Union, Canada are with developed nations. Except for Australia, other FTAs are comprehensive and they take time. Chief negotiators give offers and counter-offers. A lot of analytics are behind the offers given," the sources said.
The trade deal with Australia has been placed before the Parliament for approval and by December, the deal with Australia may get ratified from their Parliament, the source said.
First Published: Nov 15, 2022 4:11 PM IST
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