Latest news with #BilateralInvestmentTreaty
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Good progress on EU FTA talks, less so on ASEAN pact review: Government officials
The next few months is going to see a flurry of activity, with various teams of Indian negotiators actively seeking to sign new trade agreements with countries and regions such as the U.S. and European Union (EU) and amend the existing deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to government officials. During a press briefing on Tuesday (July 15, 2025), senior officials in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that India was seeing 'good progress' in its negotiations with the EU, and less satisfactory progress on the review of the free trade agreement with the ASEAN. They also said that the Fall deadline for a Bilateral Investment Treaty with the U.S. was still in place. 'With regard to the EU, we have just finished the 12th round last week that was on Friday,' Special Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Satya Srinivas said. 'We have exchanged our market access offers on services and non-services.' Mr. Srinivas said that the negotiators on both sides could close a 'couple of chapters' of the deal and that they held long discussions on other chapters where there was a divergence. 'We had some sort of understanding that emerged on a few of those divergent issues,' he added. 'All in all, it was a very productive round. I think we did cover a large number of areas and it will be the EU's turn to come to India for the next round in the first week of September.' Regarding the India-U.S. trade deal, the Commerce Ministry officials confirmed that a team from India is currently in Washington to negotiate the deal, their third such visit in the last few months. They reiterated the Fall deadline for the conclusion of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The Hindu has learnt that the Indian team has taken sectoral specialists this time around to address minute issues. According to sources, U.S. President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff letters over the last week haven't had any effect so far. 'If you look at the tariffs today, there are only announcements of tariffs,' a source aware of the negotiations told The Hindu. 'They have not come into effect. Except for the 10% baseline tariff, which is applicable for all countries, no other reciprocal tariff is there for any other country, except for China. China has got a 20% fentanyl tariff over and above this 10% baseline tariff.' Apart from this, the U.S. has imposed sectoral tariffs on iron, steel, auto, and auto components, which range from 25-50%. 'The U.S. trade data shows that the fall in imports the country has faced are largely in these sectors, and in imports from China,' the source further said. 'U.S. imports from all other countries are either staying the same or growing.' Special Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Rajesh Agrawal said that teams from India and ASEAN have held nine rounds of meetings so far. 'The progress thus far has been chequered and we would have liked much more progress,' Mr Agrawal said. 'But the good part is we are moving on many aspects, especially on customs and trade facilitation. We are moving on technical cooperation, and there are discussions around market access.' He added that the next two rounds are expected to be in New Delhi in August, and in Malaysia in October, respectively. 'We hope in these two rounds we should be able to see good progress and try to reach some kind of conclusion by the time the ASEAN-India Summit takes place in end-October,' he said. 'The endeavour is in that direction.'
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Business Standard
06-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Active negotiations under way with over a dozen countries to finalise BIT
India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said. Besides these nations, talks are underway with Tajikistan, Cambodia, Uruguay, Maldives, Switzerland, and Kuwait. These investment treaties help in protecting and promoting investments in each other's countries. With India approaching to become the third-largest economy and a hub for global manufacturing, the government is taking a series of measures to further improve its investment regime that encourages investors. "It is expected that in the next 3-6 months, BIT with some of these countries will be finalised and announced," the official added. The government in the last Budget has announced revamping the current model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it more investor-friendly and attract foreign players. The country signed BITs with two countries in 2024. Last year, the Centre announced implementation of these treaties with the UAE and Uzbekistan. Unlike a chapter related to investment promotion or facilitation in free trade agreements recently concluded, the investment protection element under a BIT provides a wide range of obligations and commitments bestowed upon foreign investors, which are expansive in nature. In a BIT, the provision of mandatory exhaustion of local legal remedies for a period of five years before resorting to international arbitration is beneficial for both the investor and the state involved in a dispute. India's approach of requiring local remedies aligns with its stance to protect taxpayer money and avoid prolonged and costly legal battles, while simultaneously providing arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution mechanism to investors. Recently, India reduced the time period of local remedy to three years under the India-UAE BIT 2024. "India remains committed to negotiating agreements that safeguard its economic interests while balancing investor confidence and domestic policy space," another official said. There is an ambitious effort of reconstructing India's BIT network to pre-2015 levels on renewed terms and consistent negotiations with a wide range of partners, with balance of interests between investors and the host state. At the same time, India has committed to well-recognised international standards of protection and beyond to afford a stable investment protection framework for foreign investors. Commenting on BITs, Rumki Majumdar, Economist, Deloitte India, said these pacts will offer the country a unique advantage by enabling India to craft highly customised partnerships based on mutual strengths. "Unlike multilateral frameworks, which often require compromises to suit a broad group of nations, bilateral treaties will allow India for case-by-case negotiation, ensuring that the terms reflect the specific economic complementarities between itself and its partner countries," she said. Majumdar added that India should focus on BITs as not just legal instruments, they must be strategic economic enablers, helping India jointly unlock higher value from its comparative and competitive advantages. According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India must "pull out all the stops" and improve tax certainty and stability to attract more foreign direct investments into the country. FDI inflows into India crossed the $1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-March 2025 period, firmly establishing the country's reputation as a safe and key investment destination globally. Last fiscal year, it stood at $81 billion. About 25 per cent of the FDI came through the Mauritius route. It was followed by Singapore (24 per cent), the US (10 per cent), the Netherlands (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent), the UK (5 per cent), the UAE (3 per cent) and Cayman Islands, Germany and Cyprus accounted for 2 per cent each. The key sectors attracting the maximum of these inflows include the services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Active negotiations on with over dozen countries for finalising bilateral investment treaties: Official
India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said. Besides these nations, talks are underway with Tajikistan, Cambodia, Uruguay, Maldives, Switzerland, and Kuwait. These investment treaties help in protecting and promoting investments in each other's countries. With India approaching to become the third-largest economy and a hub for global manufacturing , the government is taking a series of measures to further improve its investment regime that encourages investors. "It is expected that in the next 3-6 months, BIT with some of these countries will be finalised and announced," the official added. Live Events The government in the last Budget has announced revamping the current model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it more investor-friendly and attract foreign players. The country signed BITs with two countries in 2024. Last year, the Centre announced implementation of these treaties with the UAE and Uzbekistan. Unlike a chapter related to investment promotion or facilitation in free trade agreements recently concluded, the investment protection element under a BIT provides a wide range of obligations and commitments bestowed upon foreign investors, which are expansive in nature. In a BIT, the provision of mandatory exhaustion of local legal remedies for a period of five years before resorting to international arbitration is beneficial for both the investor and the state involved in a dispute. India's approach of requiring local remedies aligns with its stance to protect taxpayer money and avoid prolonged and costly legal battles, while simultaneously providing arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution mechanism to investors. Recently, India reduced the time period of local remedy to three years under the India-UAE BIT 2024. "India remains committed to negotiating agreements that safeguard its economic interests while balancing investor confidence and domestic policy space," another official said. There is an ambitious effort of reconstructing India's BIT network to pre-2015 levels on renewed terms and consistent negotiations with a wide range of partners, with balance of interests between investors and the host state. At the same time, India has committed to well-recognised international standards of protection and beyond to afford a stable investment protection framework for foreign investors. Commenting on BITs, Rumki Majumdar, Economist , Deloitte India, said these pacts will offer the country a unique advantage by enabling India to craft highly customised partnerships based on mutual strengths. "Unlike multilateral frameworks, which often require compromises to suit a broad group of nations, bilateral treaties will allow India for case-by-case negotiation, ensuring that the terms reflect the specific economic complementarities between itself and its partner countries," she said. Majumdar added that India should focus on BITs as not just legal instruments, they must be strategic economic enablers, helping India jointly unlock higher value from its comparative and competitive advantages. According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India must "pull out all the stops" and improve tax certainty and stability to attract more foreign direct investments into the country. FDI inflows into India crossed the USD 1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-March 2025 period, firmly establishing the country's reputation as a safe and key investment destination globally. Last fiscal year, it stood at USD 81 billion. About 25 per cent of the FDI came through the Mauritius route. It was followed by Singapore (24 percent), the US (10 per cent), the Netherlands (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent), the UK (5 percent), the UAE (3 per cent) and Cayman Islands, Germany and Cyprus accounted for 2 per cent each. The key sectors attracting the maximum of these inflows include the services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Mint
06-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Active negotiations on with over dozen countries for finalising BIT: Official
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) India is actively negotiating bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, Oman, European Union, Switzerland, Russia, and Australia, a government official said. Besides these nations, talks are underway with Tajikistan, Cambodia, Uruguay, Maldives, Switzerland, and Kuwait. These investment treaties help in protecting and promoting investments in each other's countries. With India approaching to become the third-largest economy and a hub for global manufacturing, the government is taking a series of measures to further improve its investment regime that encourages investors. "It is expected that in the next 3-6 months, BIT with some of these countries will be finalised and announced," the official added. The government in the last Budget has announced revamping the current model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it more investor-friendly and attract foreign players. The country signed BITs with two countries in 2024. Last year, the Centre announced implementation of these treaties with the UAE and Uzbekistan. Unlike a chapter related to investment promotion or facilitation in free trade agreements recently concluded, the investment protection element under a BIT provides a wide range of obligations and commitments bestowed upon foreign investors, which are expansive in nature. In a BIT, the provision of mandatory exhaustion of local legal remedies for a period of five years before resorting to international arbitration is beneficial for both the investor and the state involved in a dispute. India's approach of requiring local remedies aligns with its stance to protect taxpayer money and avoid prolonged and costly legal battles, while simultaneously providing arbitration as an alternate dispute resolution mechanism to investors. Recently, India reduced the time period of local remedy to three years under the India-UAE BIT 2024. "India remains committed to negotiating agreements that safeguard its economic interests while balancing investor confidence and domestic policy space," another official said. There is an ambitious effort of reconstructing India's BIT network to pre-2015 levels on renewed terms and consistent negotiations with a wide range of partners, with balance of interests between investors and the host state. At the same time, India has committed to well-recognised international standards of protection and beyond to afford a stable investment protection framework for foreign investors. Commenting on BITs, Rumki Majumdar, Economist, Deloitte India, said these pacts will offer the country a unique advantage by enabling India to craft highly customised partnerships based on mutual strengths. "Unlike multilateral frameworks, which often require compromises to suit a broad group of nations, bilateral treaties will allow India for case-by-case negotiation, ensuring that the terms reflect the specific economic complementarities between itself and its partner countries," she said. Majumdar added that India should focus on BITs as not just legal instruments, they must be strategic economic enablers, helping India jointly unlock higher value from its comparative and competitive advantages. According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, India must "pull out all the stops" and improve tax certainty and stability to attract more foreign direct investments into the country. FDI inflows into India crossed the USD 1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-March 2025 period, firmly establishing the country's reputation as a safe and key investment destination globally. Last fiscal year, it stood at USD 81 billion. About 25 per cent of the FDI came through the Mauritius route. It was followed by Singapore (24 per cent), the US (10 per cent), the Netherlands (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent), the UK (5 per cent), the UAE (3 per cent) and Cayman Islands, Germany and Cyprus accounted for 2 per cent each. The key sectors attracting the maximum of these inflows include the services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.
Daily Tribune
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
India-UK FTA likely to be signed by July-end
TDT | agencies India and the UK are aiming to sign their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by July-end, as legal teams from both sides work overtime to get the formal text of the pact ready. To give directions to the officials involved in the last mile formalities, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal and additional secretary L Satya Srinivas will be in London for the next two days. They will also be holding meetings with their counterparts from the UK and UK secretary of state for trade and business Jonathan Reynolds. The visit of the top officials of the Department of Commerce follows the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to the UK last week. Goyal met his counterpart Reynolds and both sides also held a negotiation meeting and reviewed the progress prior to the signing. The Indian legal team is also in London for the legal scrubbing of the text. The conclusion of FTA negotiations between India and the UK was announced on May 6. Earlier officials said that it might take three months to get the text of the FTA ready for signing. After the agreement is signed it will be made public. Then it has to be ratified by both countries before it comes into force. In the UK the ratification is done by the Parliament and this process could take up to a year. For India the ratification of agreements is done by the cabinet. So it could take up to 15 months from now for the FTA to become operational. The FTA will remove taxes on the export of labour-intensive products from India such as leather, footwear and clothing, while making imports of whisky and cars from Britain cheaper. Through the FTA both sides are aiming to double their trade to $ 120 billion by 2030. The pact will also liberalise services trade and make the movement of professionals easier. Along with FTA, the social security agreement or Double Contribution Contributions Convention has also been agreed to. Both sides are now engaged in finalising the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
