New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) India and Israel concluded the second round of four-day negotiations for the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) here, as both sides held detailed discussions across all areas of the proposed agreement and continued to make progress towards a balanced, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA, according to a statement issued by the Commerce Ministry on Friday.During this round, technical experts from both sides held dedicated sessions covering trade in goods, trade in …
Latest Commerce Ministry News & Updates
New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) In a bid to empower MSMEs, the government has launched a guidebook to help them identify export opportunities, understand market access requirements, leverage freely available trade intelligence tools, comply with international standards and sustainability requirements, and build export readiness.According to a Commerce Ministry statement, the guidebook addresses common challenges faced by MSMEs, including limited access to market information, inadequate knowledge of ov…
New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) The India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which comes into force on Wednesday, represents a “gold standard” FTA due to its wide sectoral coverage that includes farmers, seafood exporters, and labour-intensive industries such as textiles, which will benefit from significant reductions in both tariff and non-tariff barriers, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Wednesday.”This is one of the first free trade agreements (FTAs) of its kind, which establishes a future…
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Monday slammed Reuters for running ‘fake news’ around the India-US trade talks, saying both sides had very constructive meetings and reaffirmed their commitment to finalising a trade deal. The report claimed that India allegedly rejected a quick trade agreement with the US in recent trade negotiations.“Fake news alert! No one has rejected anything. Both sides had very constructive meetings and reaffirmed their commitment to fin…
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Despite global headwinds, India’s total exports (merchandise and services) reached $232.73 billion during the April-June period (Q1 FY27), registering a positive growth of 11.37 per cent, the Commerce Ministry data showed on Monday.Merchandise exports during the April-June period were $129.32 billion, compared to $111.57 billion during April-June in FY26. The merchandise trade deficit during April-June FY27 was $86.86 billion compared to $68.75 billion during the same…
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) India’s merchandise exports increased by 15.5 per cent (year-on-year) to $40.41 billion in June this year, compared with the corresponding figure of $34.98 billion in the same month last year, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Monday.However, the surge in imports driven by higher global crude oil and precious metal prices outpaced export growth, which led to a widening of the merchandise trade deficit to $30.43 billion in June.Imports rose at a fa…
New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) As India and the European Union work towards the early implementation of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal embarked on a three-nation visit on Monday with a high-level business delegation.The visit to Spain, Belgium and Finland from July 13-17 underscores India’s commitment to strengthening economic partnerships across Europe, with a focus on trade, investment, technology, innovation and sustainability, according to an official stat…
New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The first round of India-Maldives negotiations for a free trade agreement began on Monday and will continue till July 7, as the two countries aim to formally sign the pact by the end of this year, the Commerce Ministry announced.”The Government of India has officially commenced the first round of negotiations for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Republic of Maldives. The discussions are being conducted in virtual mode and are scheduled from June 29 to Jul…
New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) India has begun an anti-dumping probe against cheap steel imports from China, Japan, and Russia, according to a Commerce Ministry notification on Friday.The applicants alleged that the “product under consideration is being imported from the subject countries at dumped prices, which is causing material injury to the domestic industry”.”The applicants have also alleged that there is a further threat of material injury to the domestic industry due to dumped imports and hav…
London, June 26 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday announced the deployment of 1,000 advisory personnel across India and the upgradation of the trade portal to help businesses maximise the benefits of the India-UK free trade agreement, which will come into effect on July 15 and is projected to increase bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds annually.Goyal participated in a series of high-level engagements during the 10th Annual UK-India Week here on Friday, highlighting the oppo…