FTA: India may resolve pending issues in UK on February 21-24

FTA: India may resolve pending issues in UK on February 21-24

Outstanding issues include Britain's reluctance to accept India's stance that British automakers would have to increase the use of local components in their vehicles to 45% to receive concessions from New Delhi.

Negotiations for FTA between India and UK were started in January 2022

A delegation from India led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Kumar Barthwal is likely to stay in London from February 21-24 to hold another round of talks on the proposed foreign trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom (UK) due to certain issues. But disagreement remains. An Indian government official told Moneycontrol that aspects of market access.

"The FTA talks could be prolonged if outstanding issues remain unresolved, while India wants to conclude the talks before the general elections in April-May 2024," the official said.

According to the official, these outstanding issues include Britain's reluctance to accept India's stance that British automakers will have to increase the use of local components in their vehicles to 45 percent to receive concessions from New Delhi.

Negotiations were launched in January 2022 to conclude a free trade agreement with the UK. So far 14 rounds of talks have taken place between the two sides.