“We are at an advanced stage of discussions with the EU and the United States regarding trade agreements,” Piyush Goyal said.
The United States imposed 25 percent tariffs on India as a penalty for purchasing Russian oil. This is in addition to reciprocal 25 percent tariffs on Indian products entering US markets. Overall, Indian products are subject to an additional 50 percent import duty in the United States. New Delhi called the rights “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable.”
Earlier, people close to the discussions told The Economic Times that the negotiations were in their final stages, with discussions focused on reducing US tariffs on Indian exports, possibly reducing them to 15% from the current 50%. “The contours of the deal are still being finalized,” said a person familiar with the talks.
India-EU trade negotiations:
India and the European Union (EU) have concluded negotiations on 10 of the 20 chapters of the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), while another 4-5 chapters have been settled in principle, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.
Trade negotiators from both sides will meet next week to iron out sensitive issues, including trade barriers on steel and automobiles. They aim to conclude the FTA negotiations by December. Goyal said India expects a further breakthrough when the EU trade commissioner visits India in late November and that both sides move forward “recognizing each other’s sensitivities and strengths” as they work to bridge differences in the remaining areas of the deal.
“We have made significant progress in these three days of discussion… We have agreed to close 10 of the 20 chapters, four or five other chapters have in principle been largely decided and on more and more issues we are moving towards convergence,” Goyal told reporters.
His visit follows the conclusion of the 14th round of talks between the two sides from October 6-10.
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