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Time of India
05-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Held 3 meetings in 35 days with EU trade commissioner to push FTA talks: Goyal
India and the European Union are actively pursuing a free trade agreement. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic have met multiple times recently. India has already signed agreements with EFTA and the UK. Negotiations with the EU stalled in 2013 but resumed in June 2022. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has held three meetings within a short span of 35 days with the European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic with an aim to give an impetus to the reposed negotiations for a free trade agreement Goyal said on Thursday that India has already signed similar agreements with four-European nation bloc EFTA and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and India is in the process of concluding the negotiations with the 27-nation bloc European Union."We have held three meetings in 35 days. It shows our shared commitment for the FTA... we are trying to do it faster," Goyal told reporters minister is here on a two-day visit. He is meeting leaders and businesses to boost trade and investments between the two first and the second meetings between Goyal and Sefcovic were held on May 1 and May 23 in Brussels, while the third meeting concluded on June 2 in and the European Union (EU) are likely to agree upon a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA).In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement and a pact on GIs after a gap of over eight negotiations stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission President agreed to seal the much-awaited free trade deal by the end of this also said he is working with Italy and the EU for a "very" strong and mutually beneficial FTA."We are making rapid progress on the very very vibrant FTA which would open opportunities for businesses of both the sides," he India-Italy bilateral trade, Goyal said it's "low and sub-optimal" and both sides need to work to boost the two-way commerce. Currently it stands around USD 15 billion in goods."Huge potential is there to boost bilateral trade," he at the briefing, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy is looking at ways to boost exports to India as both are natural also sought Indian investments in Italy. He added bilateral talks with Goyal focused on ways to cut barriers to trade."Duties are never positive and our goal is to reduce it," Tajani said when asked about the US tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
First round of Free Trade Agreement talks between India, New Zealand concludes
India and New Zealand are currently engaged in discussions for a potential Free Trade Agreement. These talks aim to enhance trade and investment between the two nations. Negotiations resumed in March 2025 after a decade-long pause. The FTA seeks to unlock new opportunities for businesses and consumers. Disparities in tariff structures and demands for dairy market access pose challenges. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The five-day talks between India and New Zealand for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment, will conclude on Friday, an official said. After a gap of about ten years, the two countries on March 16, 2025 announced resumption of negotiations for the FTA."The first round of negotiations started on May 5 here, (New Delhi)" the official and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after ten rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in February bilateral trade continuing to grow steadily, surpassing USD 1 billion during April-January 2025, the FTA would help unlock new avenues for businesses and to the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a major challenge in the renewed talks will be the disparity in tariff Zealand's average import tariff is only 2.3 per cent, with over half of its tariff lines already duty-free, meaning Indian goods already have substantial access to its contrast, India's average tariff stands at 17.8 per cent, meaning it would have to make significant reductions, making a traditional FTA less attractive for India."As talks resume, both countries will need to find common ground on these issues to move forward successfully," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava New Zealand has demanded greater access to India's dairy market, which India has resisted to protect its domestic industry that supports millions of India's dairy imports from New Zealand are minimal (around USD 0.57 million). The country has not given duty concessions in the sector in any of its trade Zealand may look for duty concessions on products like meat and bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 873.4 million (exports USD 538.33 million and imports USD 335 million) in 2023-24 as against USD 1.02 billion in key goods exports to New Zealand include clothing, fabrics, and home textiles; medicines and medical supplies; refined petrol; agricultural equipment and machinery such as tractors and irrigation tools; auto; iron and steel; paper products; electronics; shrimps; diamonds; and basmati main imports are agricultural goods, minerals, apples, kiwifruit, meat products such as lamb, mutton, milk albumin, lactose syrup, coking coal, logs and sawn timber, wool, and scrap FY24, India's services exports to New Zealand stood at USD 214.1 million, while New Zealand's services exports to India totalled USD 456.5 key services exports include IT and software services, provided by companies such as Infosys and HCL, along with telecommunications services to support New Zealand's digital also exports healthcare services , including medical tourism , pharmaceutical research, and telemedicine. Financial services are another important area, with Indian banks and fintech companies offering digital payment Zealand's services exports to India are led by education services, with thousands of Indian students pursuing higher education in New services are also significant, as Indian tourists are drawn to New Zealand's natural landscapes and adventure Zealand provides fintech services, offering digital solutions to India's financial sector, and specialised aviation training programmes for pilots and cabin New Zealand firms offer niche IT services such as data analytics and automation solutions.
