India, UK making genuine effort to see if FTA can be operationalised in April: Commerce Secy

New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) India and the UK are making a "genuine" effort to see if the bilateral free trade agreement can be operationalised in April this year, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday.

India and the UK, on July 24, 2025, signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) under which 99 per cent of Indian exports will enter the British market at zero duty, while tariffs on British products such as cars and whisky will be reduced in India.

The pact needs approval from the UK parliament before it is implemented.

In India, the Union Cabinet approves such agreements. After it gets approved by the British parliament, it will be implemented on a mutually agreed date.

"I think both sides are working to operationalize it as fast as possible. As some stories have come in the news that it may get operationalized in April, we are making an effort towards that. But I don't know whether that is the date or it will happen beyond that. But we are trying. Our genuine effort on both sides is to see if we can meet the April deadline," Agrawal told reporters here.

INDIA-MERCOSUR TRADE PACT --------------------------------------- Agrawal said that there is a joint trade committee under the existing preferential trade agreement (PTA) and the committee meetings are happening.

"Under that, we are trying to finalize the scope of an expanded preferential trade agreement. Both sides are wanting to expand the preferential trade agreement between India and Mercosur. And the teams are engaged in deciding on what would be a scope for this future expansion," he said.

He expressed hope that the exercise could be completed in the next few months.

Mercosur is a trading bloc in Latin America, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

The India-Mercosur PTA came into effect on June 1, 2009.

This PTA has limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines or products.

Both sides are looking at expanding the scope of this pact to a full-fledged agreement.

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will undertake a five-day visit to India beginning February 18 to hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and participate in the AI Impact summit.

INDIA-ISRAEL FTA -------------------------- The secretary said that the two countries have signed the terms of reference (ToR) to formally start talks for a free trade agreement (FTA). It was inked in November last year.

"We are into negotiations with Israel.

When asked if some progress can be achieved in the FTA during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel later this month, he said "I personally don't see an outcome in terms of FTA in the next few months. It will take some time. But we are working fast".

Modi is likely to travel to Israel on a two-day visit from February 25 to 26.

The ToR include market access for goods by eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers, investment facilitation, simplification of customs procedures, increasing cooperation for innovation and technology transfer, and easing norms to promote trade in services.

INDIA-CANADA FTA -------------------------- He said that the two countries are engaged to finalize the ToR for a free trade agreement.

"Both sides are engaged on it and we are progressing," he said.

The two countries were earlier negotiating a trade pact but it was paused by Canada in 2023. Now they have decided to resume talks from the beginning as a lot has changed on the global trade front during these two years.

The ToR outline the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact. PTI RR RR ANU ANU