India is set to conclude three major trade agreements with the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Australia by 2022, and is close to subscribing early harvesttrade deals independently with the three nations, three people apprehensive of the development said.
The government has set aggressive timelines for the agreements as part of its ambitious target of$ 500 billion exports by the fiscal time to March 2023 – formalisation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE by early 2022, a free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK by coming time, and an interim trade deal with Australia by December. These will be followed a time latterly by a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), the people said, requesting obscurity.
The accommodations with the UAE are on a fast track. The first round of addresses was held on September 23-24 in New Delhi during the visit of UAE minister of state for trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. “ The end is to subscribe a formal CEPA in March 2022,” one person said.
Both sides are serious about negotiating and concluding CEPA in line with the determination of the leadership of both countries,” a alternate person added. “ Both sides are nearly connected and working to achieve this agreement, which will round the India-UAE strategic cooperation.”
The agreement is anticipated to raise bilateral trade in goods to$ 100 billion and in services to$ 15 billion in five times. The UAE was India’s third largest trading mate with about$59.1 billion of bilateral trade in 2019-20, a largelynon-Covid period.
India’s major exports to the UAE include refined petroleum products, minerals, cereals, sugar, fruits, vegetables, tea, meat, seafood, fabrics, engineering, ministry products, and chemicals. It imports petroleum and petroleum products, precious essence, monuments, jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood products.
“ India and the UK plan to launch accommodations on an FTA from coming month in two stages – low- hanging fruits ( early trade deal) by March 2022 on precedence, followed by a comprehensive agreement,” a third person said. The conditional timeline for the FTA and other trade matters was chalked out during conversations between commerce minister Piyush Goyal and UK trade clerk Liz Truss last month.
The two countries also agreed to snappily finalise terms of reference so that accommodations can be launched in November, he said, adding rapid-fire progress has been seen after an “ Enhanced Trade Partnership” was blazoned by the high ministers of both nations in May.
India has also revived CECA accommodations with Australia, which has tremendous eventuality, said the first person cited before.
It’s anticipated that the long-pending FTA accommodations with Australia may conclude by 2022 and an agreement could be inked later,” he said. Australia and India launched accommodations for a CECA in May 2011, but addresses were suspended in September 2015 after nine rounds because of differences on some multinational issues.
Accommodations by the two countries were “ relaunched in June last time and an aggressive timeline” was agreed at the India-Australia common clerical commission meeting between Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan on September 30, he said.
Tehan said the end is to have an interim agreement covering goods, services, investments, rules of origin, phyto-aseptic measures for fruits and vegetables, and collective recognition of qualifications in place by December this time, to be followed by a final agreement in December 2022. He said the two sides are anticipated to make request access offers by the end of October.
“ It’s going to be a challenge. These effects aren’t easy,” Tehan said, admitting Indian enterprises in areas similar as dairy and husbandry. The request access offers will be a “ delicate” aspect taking hard work by both sides, he said.
Though both sides will have to make negotiations, Australia can offer investments and technology to boost food and agrarian processing in India, Tehan said. Australia is also open to equitably handling the issue of domestic subventions in husbandry, he added.
India has set an ambitious of exports target of$ 450-$ 500 billion by the coming fiscal time and early crop deals, along with full FTAs, will play a major part in realising this thing, the first person said. Besides the three most prospective FTAs, New Delhi is negotiating trade deals with other countries and blocs. They include Oman, Canada, the European Union, Russia, and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland.
Speaking at a quiz review meeting of import creation councils (EPCs) on Saturday, Goyal asked the bodies to raise trade- related enterprises faced in these countries so that the government can address them while negotiating individual FTAs. He said similar issues were substantially related to request access rather than tariffs.
Goyal said India is on the right track as its exports touched$ 197 billion in the first half of the current fiscal time. “ Our exporters have made all of us Indians proud moment,” he said in a statement, adding “ if we can aim to gauge$ 450-$ 500 billion exports coming time”.
Nilaya Varma,co-founder and CEO of consultancy establishment Primus Mates, said “ UAE, UK, and Australia are three crucial husbandry, and India’s old abettors. Trade accommodations with them in both goods and services have progressed veritably well and signs of early crop deals are visible, which will eventually crown into comprehensive FTAs. It’s a palm- palm for both India and its mates.”
Meanwhile, commerce minister Goyal met ministers of at least 15 countries on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in Sorrento, Italy, a government prophet said.
He clarified India’s trade position and engaged in bilateral and multinational accommodations with the ministers of the US, the UK, the EU, Brazil, China, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Canada, South Korea and Mexico, among others, the functionary said.
At the meetings, Goyal also asserted India’s position for the forthcoming Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) of World Trade Organization (WTO) to be held in November at Geneva in Switzerland. Goyal said the multinational trade deal must be “ just and indifferent” and “ literal wrongs against developing countries must be corrected” rather than being carried over, the functionary cited over said.
