After sealing big deals with UAE, Australia, India is eyeing FTAs with 5 GCC countries, Canada, EU, and UK, reports Asian Lite News
After its conclusion of free trade deals with the UAE and Australia, India is stepping up efforts to clinch free trade agreements (FTA) with five other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the European Union (EU), Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel as the world’s sixth-largest economy doubles down on securing its ambitious export target of $1 trillion by 2030.
GCC push
In April, India marked a key milestone of surpassing $1 trillion in its global goods trade as exports grew at the fastest pace since 1989-90 to a record $418 billion, while imports scaled the $610-billion mark, also an all-time high.
Piyush Goyal said recently that India had started the scoping exercise of deciding the type of framework of FTA with GCC to provide jobs, growth, and enhance the country’s economic trade between the two sides.
According to commerce ministry officials, New Delhi is set to begin deeper engagements with the GCC countries as early as May-June to finalise the FTAs. Goyal said he was very hopeful of concluding “a good, free trade, fair and equitable agreement” the rest of the GCC states that will provide opportunities for jobs, growth and boost India’s economic and trade ties with the region. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the UAE, which will be operationalised on May 1, 2022, will open huge opportunities and businesses of both countries should look at taking the bilateral trade to $250 billion by 2030, he said.
India looks to EU
After FTA talks with the EU fell through in 2014, the preliminary round of fresh negotiations is expected to prepare the ground for ironing out the differences, and even attempt to crack an early-harvest deal before India goes to polls in 2024.
The EU’s key demands include duty concessions for automobiles, dairy products, and wines and spirits. India, meanwhile, is batting for greater market access in financial services and mobility for professionals. The EU also wants India to cover concessions extended to other FTA partner nations.
India is on a pretty strong wicket — India’s merchandise exports grew by 42.7% in FY22 over the previous year to cross the $400 billion mark for the first time.
Canada calling
India and Canada are set to resume negotiations to finalise a trade pact to strengthen economic ties between both countries.
Towards this, an interim trade deal will be finalised, which will be followed by a full-fledged free trade agreement (FTA) or a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). India and Canada have been negotiating CEPA since 2010, with the latest round of negotiations held in August, 2017.
An interim or an early progress trade agreement (EPTA) will include discussions on goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary, and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement.
“Canada and India agreed to promote and protect bilateral investment, including through the intensification of negotiations toward a bilateral investment Agreement, while considering options to achieve this goal alongside CEPA,” a joint statement released by both countries said.
The announcement comes in the backdrop of the fifth ministerial dialogue on trade and investment (MDTI) that was chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. Mary Ng, Canadian minister of small business, export promotion and international trade, is the co-chair of MDTI.
Talks with Israel gather pace
The Free Trade Agreement with Israel is aimed at broadening the basket of India-Israel trade which is currently dominated by defence, high tech and agriculture collaboration. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said earlier that the pact will be one of the major bilateral trade initiatives that India is aiming at.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the visit by Prime Minister Benett would be his first to India in his capacity as the Prime Minister of Israel. The two leaders had met in November last year in Glasgow on the sidelines of the COP26 summit. They had a telephonic conversation before that on August 16, 2021.
The big deal with Britain
Since Brexit, India and the UK have been trying to strengthen ties further. Now relations have been elevated to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’, which is based on ‘shared commitment to democracy, fundamental freedoms, multilateralism and a rule based international order’. Last year, at a virtual summit, Modi and his British counterpart adopted an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’. It highlights growing convergence in trade, defence, climate action, and people-to-people contacts.
Johnson is visiting at a time when Indian goods and services exports are at all-time high and touched $670 billion in 2021-22. Besides, New Delhi has recently signed trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Australia. Although strategically India has not aligned with the West on the Ukraine issue, it has suddenly re-oriented its approach towards trade deals. These factors have brightened the prospects of an early India-UK trade agreement.
“A trade deal with India’s booming economy offers huge benefits for British businesses, workers and consumers,” Prime Minister Johnson said at the formal launch of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks earlier this year.
“The UK has world-class businesses and expertise we can rightly be proud of, from Scotch whisky distillers to financial services and cutting-edge renewable technology.”
“We are seizing the opportunities offered in growing economies of the Indo-Pacific to cement our place on the global stage and deliver jobs and growth at home,” he said in January.
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