Huge Progress In India-UK Talks On Free Trade Pact; Looking To Resolve Issues During Meetings This Month: Official

There is a "huge" progress in the talks between India and the UK on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and New Delhi is looking to resolve the pending issues during high level meetings scheduled this month between the two countries, a top official said on Monday.
     
The 12th round of talks between the countries are in progress here.
     
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the 11th round of talks in London was "very intense" and many issues got closed.
     
Out of the total 26 chapters in the proposed FTA, 19 have been closed. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK.
     
"Now, there are only few issues left. The UK team is coming to India during the Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meeting (in Jaipur) and we are hoping that we would be closing those remaining issues.
     
"So, our target is that we close the issues with the UK when the UK team visit us in India and we are very hopeful that the issues will be sorted out," Barthwal told reporters here.
     
As talks are moving at a healthy pace, the negotiations for the agreement could be concluded soon.
     
"I think there is a good possibility of the UK FTA moving forward... there are a lot of steps before FTA is signed," he said, adding "there is a huge progress on the FTA".
     
One section of the UK team is already here in the national capital and the remaining officials are coming from August 16.
     
The UK trade minister and DG Trade, counterpart of India's commerce secretary, will be here this month for the talks and TIWG meeting.
     
The minister-level meeting is expected on August 21 here.
     
"Lot of visits are happening that is why we are saying that we are very keen to close the remaining chapters during this visit," Barthwal said.
     
The main issues which could come up for discussions in this round include investment treaty, reduction of duties on auto and whiskey, rules of origin, intellectual property rights and matters pertaining to services.
     
The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT, and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duties.
     
On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, automobiles, lamb meat, and certain confectionary items.
     
Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services into Indian markets in segments such as telecommunications, legal and financial services like banking.
     
The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.