India Trade Minister said the country has opened its trade talks with the European Union and started a dialogue with the United Kingdom for a free trade agreement, to gain new markets for its products. Finance minister said that India also opens to a preferential trade agreement for now with the end goal of a free-trade agreement. Piyush Goyal, Indian trade minister also added that he’s in dialogue with the EU trade commissioner about deals that start at preferential trade to possibly escalate to a free-trade agreement. Goyal said that the country is looking at an early harvest deal and discussion on a variety of subjects. Previously, the discussion and negotiations for a comprehensive EU-India free-trade were suspended in 2013 after six years of talks. India pulled the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership last year in reason of coronavirus fears as China has access to its markets and now the country’s looking for a new approach to boost exports.
India has also been raising boundaries to suppress China’s low-cost imports and altered them with local products for domestic consumption and exports. India can engage in a trade agreement with the UK and EU in products such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather, furniture, handicrafts, industrial machinery and toys with competitive prices. The country’s economic growth has mostly driven by local consumption and government efforts to expand export. The government of PM Modi has various approach in pushing exports such as “Make In India” programme, but the success is still limited.
