FTA with UK inked on India's terms: Goyal
New Delhi, July 27 -- The free trade agreement inked between India and the United Kingdom will offer benefits for a multitude of sectors, particularly the services sector, said union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday, adding that the agreement was inked on "India's terms". The agreement signed on Thursday was described by the minister as a "game changer".
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a Free Trade Agreement. Cabinet approval has been given in India, but Parliamentary approval in the UK is pending," Goyal said.
FTA, which has been signed after prolonged negotiations spanning two decades, is the "biggest, most comprehensive" agreement, Goyal said, adding that the agreement was inked on "our own terms" and protecting sensitive sectors.
"There are various new chapters, we have signed the deal on our own terms and for India's economy it will mean a lot," the minister told media persons.
While he credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's credibility for giving a fillip to the signing of the agreement, the minister said his instruction was to ensure that key sectors such as agriculture and dairy are protected. "What is sensitive for us, what is called defensive interest, we have not opened any product. This FTA like the ones with Australia does not include the diary sector, as was instructed by the PM," he said.
He went on to add that unlike the FTAs that were signed during the Congress-led UPA regime with ASEAN countries, the present government ensures that FTAs are signed to protect Indian interests. The agreements are now signed "with clarity, we do not compete with each other but complement," he said.
"On the one hand there is a FTA with the sixth largest economy, we negotiated with confidence and on our terms. 99% of our exports will get preferential market access and without imposing duty, and what we need will come to the Indian markets and yet we kept the safeguard for sensitive sectors such as dairy and agriculture. It is a win-win trade agreement," Goyal said., adding that the Indian economy is moving ahead with speed, and its resilience....
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