The Secretary of Commerce, Sunil Barthwal, confirms the negotiations under way for trade agreements with the EU and the United States, aimed at concluding pacts by the end of the year. These agreements go beyond traditional trade, encompassing dispute settlement and mechanisms.
He said that the free trade agreements (Alf) that India is one of the main catalysts to promote global capacity centers (GCC) in the country.
“… Ale with the United Kingdom has just announced (May 6). With the EU, which is happening, with the United States, the discussions are underway,” said Barthwal here at CII GCC Business Summit here.
India and the United States negotiate a bilateral trade agreement (BTA). They aim to conclude the first phase of the pact in the fall (September-October) of this year.
Likewise, India and the EU also negotiate the ALE.
In June 2022, India and the EU block of 27 countries resumed negotiations for a complete free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographic indications (GIS) after a difference of more than eight years.
He stalled in 2013 due to differences on the market opening level.
India and the EU aim to conclude the free trade agreement by the end of this year.
The secretary also said that today’s agreements are different from the traditional ALA, which were limited to traditional trade.
New pacts are a more complex set of agreements that also include services, he said.
Now there is also an institutional mechanism in these pacts to examine questions such as Harmoning regulations and standards; And solve disputes, if applicable.
And these are important facets of CCG, he said, the addition of modern FTA will lead to the innovation corridor, which will facilitate CCG in India.
The new trade agreements, said Barthwal, tackle a whole range of questions, which could be one of the reasons why the negotiations of these pacts take time to conclude.
He added that in the Ale with the United Kingdom, there is a chapter on innovation, which was not the case earlier.
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