India, UK to continue to work intensively to conclude comprehensive FTA by end of October 2022

12 Aug 2022 Evaluate

After concluding the fifth round of talks for the agreement on July 29, India and the UK will continue to work intensively to conclude the majority of talks on a comprehensive and balanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by end of October 2022. In a joint statement on the ongoing FTA negotiations, the Department for International Trade (DIT) said the fifth round involved a detailed draft treaty text discussion over 85 separate sessions and 15 policy areas. The latest round concluded, with the next due to be held in the UK later this month.

It said negotiation officials undertook these technical talks in a hybrid fashion with some of the teams meeting in New Delhi and the majority of officials joining virtually. For this round of negotiations, technical experts from both sides came together for detailed draft treaty text discussions in 85 separate sessions covering 15 policy areas. The statement follows Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's statement earlier this week that negotiations for the India-UK FTA are moving at a faster pace.

Recently, The House of Commons International Agreements Committee, in a report entitled UK-India free trade agreement: Scrutiny of the Government's Negotiating Objectives', questioned the Diwali deadline set for the conclusion of the negotiations by Johnson during his visit to India in April. The committee cautioned that could risk giving up a good deal for a fast one, by setting a time ambition over and above content. The committee has called on the government to publish a comprehensive trade policy that provides a framework within which all negotiations can be conducted.

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