India’s free trade pacts not paused, all talks progressing as per schedule: Official

New Delhi: Negotiations for all the proposed free trade agreements, including those with the UK and European Union (EU), are progressing as per the schedule and the country’s FTAs are not paused, a top government official has said. The official said that an impression is going around that FTAs are paused, which is not correct.

“All our FTAs, whether it is with the EU or UK, all are progressing as per the schedule,” the official said.

In the coming weeks, a bilateral meeting is scheduled between the commerce secretary and the Director-General of the European Union to take stock of the negotiations for the proposed trade agreement with the European Union.

They will also meet as part of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

Besides the EU and the UK, India is negotiating these agreements with Australia, Peru, Sri Lanka, and Oman.

In such pacts, two trading partners either significantly cut customs duties or remove the maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms to promote trade in services and attract investments. India has so far implemented FTAs with a number of nations including Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the UAE. According to the commerce ministry, the next round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between India and South American nation Peru will be held after finalisation of the FTA strategy.

The standard operating procedure (SOP) or strategy document for negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) is expected to be ready by the end of this year. It is an internal document aiming to standardise the processes of negotiations of these pacts.

The ministry has also informed that the negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with Oman were completed in March this year, but further discussions are ongoing.