India pushes trade talks, looks to seal key pacts by year-end

INdia testament escort hectic parleys on o'er half-a-dozen release merchandise negotiations this month, including a bilateral talk with the United States with “very high” probability of concluding at least two FTAs before the year-end – one with Oman and the other with New Zealand – people in the know said on Sunday.India may resolve the last remaining issue with Oman soon and is expected to announce the conclusion of the deal by mid-December at a high-level bilateral meeting. An FTA with New Zealand is expected to be concluded this month as officials from both sides are actively engaged in wrapping up the remaining six issues, they said requesting anonymity.When asked about the developments, a commerce ministry spokesperson declined to give any specific detail of FTA negotiations. “India is in talks with several countries and no deal is done until it is formally announced. Our primary goal is to have fair, equitable, and mutually beneficial, win-win agreements with our prospective partners. Talks do not have fixed deadlines,” the spokesperson said.Other than the two above mentioned trade talks that are nearing conclusion, intense bilateral engagements are seen with the EU and the US. A team of negotiators from the EU is expected to deliberate key issues with their Indian counterparts in face-to-face meetings scheduled from Monday in New Delhi, they said.Several issues pertaining to the proposed India-EU FTA are final. Some of pending issues are expected to be resolved this week even as the two negotiating teams would remain connected through virtual means, they said. Although the two sides are eyeing this calendar year to conclude talks for a “balanced and mutually beneficial” agreement, a final conclusion may stretch to early 2026, coinciding with the India-EU Leadership Summit, they added. The summit is expected to be held coinciding with India’s Republic Day.The US trade talks with India have picked up pace with a team of American trade negotiators visiting India from December 10, they said. Senior members of the US Trade Representative (USTR) office are expected to hold face-to-face talks with their Indian counterparts. The India team is likely to be led by a new chief negotiator after the elevation of Rajesh Agrawal as the commerce secretary.India and Canada are also engaged to finalise terms of reference (ToR) for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which is expected soon, they said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to visit India next year to boost economic ties between the two countries. India and Canada expect that the proposed CEPA would double their bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2030.Meanwhile, talks were held between India and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) last week for an FTA. SACU comprises Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. Although the first round of technical discussions for India-SACU preferential trade agreement had taken place in Pretoria on October 5-6, 2007, talks could not progress beyond the fifth round held on October 7-8, 2010 because of various reasons. It is expected that fresh rounds of FTA negotiations may start soon.Similarly, India and Israel are actively engaged to have an early harvest deal soon. The two partners signed the terms of reference to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement last month that aims to boost trade, investment and technology cooperation between the two nations. India and Israel have already signed a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) to promote and protect foreign private investments in each other’s territories on September 8 this year.Talks are also at various stages on three more FTAs – Chile, Peru and Maldives, the people mentioned above said. India and Chile have achieved substantial progress on their proposed FTA last week, they said,adding that India-Peru talks will also be modelled on the proposed India-Chile FTA, hence it would also be concluded quickly after talks with Chile are finalised. Depending on the capacity, talks with Maldives will also start soon, they added.