New Delhi, 13 Dec (KNN) India has proposed a free trade agreement on more than 1,000 products across sectors, including textiles & garments, gem & jewellery, leather, spices, engineering goods, chemicals and poultry, where it wants duty concessions from the UAE under a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), sources told Financial Express.

New Delhi and Abu Dhabi held the third round of FTA negotiations from 6th to 10th December, 2021. It would be the first free trade agreement to be signed by India after a decade.

From 23rd September, 2021 both sides started formal negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), as the FTA is formally called. They aim to wrap up talks by December and sign a deal by March 2022 following due processes of principal approval.

The Indian government is seeking removal of poultry exports from ban list. Government has highlighted that it has been strictly adopting safety norms as directed by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

While the UAE, India’s third-largest export destination, currently slaps a 5% duty on textiles & garments and jewellery, certain steel products are taxed at 10%. These three segments alone made up 34% of India’s USD 16.7 billion exports to the UAE last fiscal and 43% in the pre-pandemic year of FY20.

Abu Dhabi has also drawn up a long list of products, including food items such as dates and confectionery for duty concession.

The India-UAE FTA is expected to raise bilateral merchandise trade to USD 100 billion in five years following the signing of the pact from about USD 43 billion in FY21. It also aims to more than double bilateral services trade to USD 15 billion during this period.

In services, as Financial Express has reported, both sides might negotiate  a deal on labour-intensive sectors, which would ensure free movement of skilled professionals. This is expected to boost job creation in both the countries.

The UAE was India’s second-biggest goods export market until FY20. India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments, food items, engineering goods and chemicals. Its main imports from the UAE include petroleum and petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, chemicals and wood and wood products.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may declare the CEPA when he visits the UAE, possibly in January, said the sources to Financial Express.