Before the general elections, India intends to conclude negotiations on three trade agreements, including one with the UK: References

 Before the general elections, India intends to conclude negotiations on three trade agreements, including one with the UK: References

Before the general elections, India intends to conclude negotiations on three trade agreements, including one with the UK: References

Officials anticipate that discussions for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Oman would end in January 2024. The 14th round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Area is expected to begin next month.

For more than 21 months, India and the UK have been discussing an FTA.

Before the national elections, India intends to finalize talks for three significant trade agreements: the UK, Oman, and the European Free Trade Association with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, as well as Switzerland.

The person said that there is pressure to wrap up discussions before the general elections in India in April or May of 2024, and that the majority of the problems pertaining to the rules of origin chapter of the free trade agreement with the UK have been settled.

Officials anticipate that discussions for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Oman would finish as early as January 2024, with most of the negotiations having already been completed. The fourteenth round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Area is set to begin next month.

Early in December, Press Trust of India was informed by Switzerland's ambassador to India, Ralf Heckner, that the completion of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) deal with India is probably going to occur before to the general elections of 2024. Members of EFTA do not belong to the European Union (EU).

The trade agreement with Oman was discussed in two rounds: the first took place in New Delhi on November 27–29, 2023, and the second was conducted in Muscat on December 9–14, 2023. On December 15, the Commerce Ministry said that the parties' discussions on the majority of the chapters' language had come to an end.

India and Britain

The source elaborated on the topics under discussion for the free trade agreement with the UK, stating that London's demand for tariff reductions on electric cars as a condition of the FTA has not yet been addressed, something India had requested. Tariff concessions are almost set in stone. about internal combustion engines.

As part of the planned trade deal between the two nations, the Indian government is exploring tariff rate quotas in order to satisfy Britain's desire for a reduction in import duties on electric vehicles from the UK.

Thirteen rounds of negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement have been concluded between the two nations so far. India's fifth-biggest export destination is the UK. The 26 chapters of the agreement address investments, intellectual property rights, services, and products.

On November 20, the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) said that free trade agreements between the two nations have to be finalized prior to the general elections in each of those nations. The UK election's date has not yet been set, although according to Kevin McCole, managing director of UKIBC, it may take place in May or November of 2024. It's possible that negotiations may need to wait until after Britain's and India's elections. Over, he continued.

Moneycontrol revealed last month that India wanted to wrap up trade talks with the UK by the beginning of January. The two nations have been negotiating a trade agreement for more than 21 months, but they were unable to finalize it by the scheduled Diwali 2022 deadline.