New Delhi (India), December 26: India is engaged with the United States and the European Union to conclude trade agreements and discussions have been held on outstanding issues, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
Responding to questions at the weekly press briefing on bilateral trade talks between India and the United States, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two governments remained committed towards concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial trade deal.
He said the Deputy US Trade Representative had recently visited India. A US delegation led by Rick Switzer visited India from December 9-11. This was Ambassador Switzer’s first visit to India in his new role.
During the visit, Switzer met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and other senior Indian officials.
Responding to a question on the free trade agreement negotiations with the EU, Jaiswal said they were progressing.
“The 14th round of FTA was held in Brussels in October. The team then went to India and then the US trade commissioner was also here in December. He had to discuss other outstanding issues. Both sides remain engaged and we will see how we can move this conversation forward,” he said.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal had earlier said that India and the EU were narrowing their differences and there would be more physical and virtual meetings.
“We have conducted almost 14 rounds of negotiations; their team was there and both sides were deeply engaged on multiple issues. We are narrowing the differences,” he said.
India recently concluded an FTA with New Zealand. This is one of the most rapidly concluded FTAs by India.
This FTA improves market access and tariff preferences for Indian exports to New Zealand, while serving as a gateway to broader markets in Oceania and the Pacific Islands.
Disclaimer: This article has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor.
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