India’s FTA talks with Chile nearing conclusion
India is currently engaged in free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with several countries and groups, with talks with Chile nearing completion, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The minister also mentioned that progress is being made in negotiations with Canada, South Africa-led SACU, Mexico, the Mercosur bloc, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Israel, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Ecuador, Egypt, and various African nations.
Goyal expressed hope that the continuity of the government in Brazil following the election would help speed up the Mercosur negotiations, which came into effect on June 1, 2009, providing preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines for India and 452 for the Mercosur side. The minister added that negotiations with GCC and Israel are slow due to the West Asia crisis and may take some time.
India has already signed a trade pact with the UAE and Oman, and is assessing the benefits of the Eurasian Free Trade Agreement (EFTA). Other countries like Ecuador, Egypt, and various African nations have approached India to discuss potential FTAs.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
