India and the United Kingdom are about to finalize a free trade agreement, the negotiations progressing quickly and the two parties are trying to solve the remaining problems.
They said that a British team was there to discuss the problems of the bilateral investment treaty.
The Minister of Finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, on April 9, finished the 13th Economic and Financial Dialogue of Ministerial India (EFD) with his British counterpart, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, on a note of positivity and eagerness to conclude the bilateral negotiations of the free trade agreement (FTA) soon.
Sources have indicated that now another series of complete negotiations is unlikely because discussions are progressing at a faster rate.
On February 24, the Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and the British Secretary of State for Affairs and Trade Jonathan Reynolds announced the resumption of negotiations for the proposed of the ALE between the two countries.
Negotiations resumed after a gap of more than eight months. The talks were launched on January 13, 2022. Until now, 14 cycles of talks have been completed.
The two countries actively negotiate three different fronts – ALE, a bilateral investment treaty (ILO) and a double contribution agreement agreement.
In the bit, the bonding point between the two nations concerns the resolution of disputes.
On the progress of negotiations for the free trade pact of the proposed India, the European Union (EU), one of the sources said that the two discussed an early harvest agreement.
“In principle, they have agreed for that,” added the source. The 11th cycle of negotiations is planned from May 12 to 16 here. The two seek to conclude the free trade agreement in phases in the midst of an uncertain global trade environment.
India has followed the practice of negotiating these commercial pacts in two phases with Australia.
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