Garments seek EU FTA
Minister Irani meeting FICCI president Harshavardhan Neotia.
Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani has received a request from Indian garment exporters for a greater access to markets in the European Union through a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which has been under deliberations for several years.
The Minister was receptive to the idea of having a consensus on Goods Sales Tax rate for the textile industry and the need for greater market access for the Indian garment exporters in EU under the FTA, said the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
On July 15, 2016, a FICCI delegation called on Irani, who has taken charge of the Textile Ministry following this reshuffle of ministerial posts.
Meanwhile, chief negotiators of India and European Union has discussed the status of the on-going negotiations for Bilateral Trade & Investment Agreement (BITA) in New Delhi on July 15, 2016.
The negotiations, held post Brexit, reflected the concerns of Indian industries in some sectors and expressed willingness to address outstanding issues as an integral part of the negotiations.
India is committed to proceed with the negotiations with a hope to conclude the FTA as early as possible, said a government release.
Sixteen rounds of negotiations have been held at chief negotiators’ level since 2007 when the India-EU BTIA negotiations started. fii-news.com
