New Delhi: India and the European Union (EU) have concluded negotiations for Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The deal which will be announced today, will help
in strengthening economic ties between both sides, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said.
Trade deal balanced on India’s point of view: Commerce Secretary
Pointing out that from India’s point of view, the trade deal is balanced and forward-looking, he added, “Official-level negotiations are being concluded and both sides are all set to announce the successful conclusion of FTA talks on 27th January, Tuesday.” “Negotiations have been successfully concluded. The deal has been finalised,” Agrawal added further.
Sharing further details, he added that the legal formalities of the FTA text are underway, and efforts are on the way complete the process at the earliest sign the agreement. He further added that the deal is expected to be signed this year and come into force by early next year. It may be noted that the deal is being finalised after 18 years, since the talks began in 2007. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has termed as mother of all trades.
PM Modi to hold talks today
PM Modi is will hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Antonio Costa on Tuesday. With the agreement, the EU will provide duty-free access to several Indian goods. These include sectors like textiles, chemicals, gems and jewellery, electrical machinery, leather and footwear.
Notably, the EU’s tariffs on Indian goods are nearly 3.8 percent, even as labour-intensive. Also, India’s weighted average duty on EU products is about 9.3 per cent, with particularly high duties on automobiles, parts (35.5 per cent), plastics (10.4 per cent), and chemicals and pharmaceuticals (9.9 per cent).
