Amid speculation of a possible delay in the India-UK FTA, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that free trade agreements (FTAs) will be signed only after in-depth consultations with all stakeholders and the government will not budge from the approach. for the deadline”.
Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam had said last month that talks for a proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK were in the final stages and the Diwali deadline i.e. October would not be missed.
“Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today said that India will give top priority to national interest in FTA negotiations. The time frame to be entered into FTA after in-depth consultation with all stakeholders including industry and government will be no different from this approach,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman had expressed concerns about having an open border migration policy in the context of FTAs with India. Mint had reported that India wants to have greater access to its professionals in the service sector in the UK.
The India-UK FTA deal is expected to give a boost to the domestic textile sectors as it will help in duty-free access to major textile exporters such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
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