India-UK: Fresh round of talks on to resolve differences – Economy News

India and the UK are at the stage of discussing “complex issues” involved in the free trade agreement (FTA) which are of high economic significance including rules of origion, import duties om EVs and other automobiles and movement of pofessionals, a senior official said Wednesday. As the issues are complex so they are being looked at more closely without the pressure of deadlines, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said.

Joint Secretary in the commerce ministry and India’s chief negotiator for the pact, Nidhi Mani Tripathi, said that the two sides continue to discuss the “outstanding issues” which remained unresolved.

“At all levels, there have been continuous exchanges to iron out differences and we intend to close as many issues quickly,” she said.

So far 13 rounds of talks on the agreement have been completed. “Talks are happening at the track level and at the senior level when required,” she added.

Issues which are under negotiation include social security pact, automobiles, medical devices, movement of professionals; rules of origin; intellectual property rights (IPRs); duty concessions on electric vehicles, scotch whiskey, lamb meat, chocolates; and liberalisation of norms in services sectors like banking and insurance.

Parallel talks are also being held on the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) that would be signed with the trade agreement.

The main point of contention in BIT is about the mechanism for the settlement of disputes that arise among investors or between investors and the government..

India and the UK launched the talks for free-trade agreement (FTA) in January 2022, with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali but the deadline was missed due to political developments in the UK.

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. Majority of chapters are closed or are in advanced stages of negotiations.

The UK is the 7th biggest market for Indian exports taking in $ 11.4 billion worth of goods last financial year. In the same period imports from the UK totalled $8.4 billion.

On broad-basing the existing free trade agreement with Australia, Joint Secretary in the ministry, Darpan Jain said that the eighth round of talks is expected in the first week of December.

“Negotiations are going at a fast pace. We are also having exploratory discussions on 14 new areas such as competition, MSME, and gender…and we have reached a convergence on many of these areas like sports, labour environment, MSME, and traditional knowledge,” he said.

He added that both countries intended to convert them into formal tracks as soon as possible.

On the trade pact with Latin American nation Peru, the ministry said that the sixth round of talks is expected in December.

Similarly, with Sri Lanka, the next round of negotiations on a free trade agreement is scheduled early January next year.