India, UK Attempt To Close Remaining Issues In Next Round Of FTA Talks

New Delhi, Oct 9 (KNN) An official delegation from the UK consisting of 30 members will start the next round of negotiations for a free trade agreement with the Indian team in New Delhi from Monday.

With this both the countries aim to close remaining issues so that the two countries conclude the talks soon, an official has said.

Both countries have recently concluded the 13th round of negotiations. A team led by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal was in London last week to give an impetus to the talks.

The UK team dealing with investment-related matters is already here, and the talks for the proposed bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with finance ministry officials are progressing at a faster pace.

“The 30-member team will be here tomorrow, and both sides are attempting to close the remaining issues, such as rules of origin. Everything is at the closure level,” the official said.

The 'rules of origin' provision prescribes that minimal processing should happen in the FTA country so that the final manufactured product may be referred to as goods originating in that country.

Under this provision, a country that has inked an FTA with India cannot dump goods from some third country in the Indian market by just putting a label on it. It has to undertake a prescribed value addition in that product to export to India. Rules of origin norms help contain the dumping of goods.

The investment treaty is being negotiated as a separate agreement between India and the UK. These investment treaties help in promoting and protecting investments in each other's country.  (KNN Bureau)