Trade move from India
India has found common ground for free trade agreement negotiations with the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in an effort to expand its global trade portfolio.
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Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal announced that India has reached an agreement in principle in trade talks with key Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Minister Goyal stated that the planned free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council would help India diversify its energy sources and support its economic growth.
On the other hand, negotiations for a trade agreement between India and the US are also nearing an end. According to Goyal's statement, the trade agreement between the two countries is expected to be officially signed in March. In this context, it was noted that both New Delhi will reduce customs tariffs on US-origin products and Washington will reduce tariffs on Indian products. Goyal also shared the information that "both sides will issue a joint statement within the next four to five days."
Minister Goyal further emphasized that India plans to import at least 500 billion dollars worth of energy, aircraft, and chips from the US over the next five years. Stating that the value of new orders to be placed with aviation companies like Boeing could reach 70 to 80 billion dollars, Goyal underlined that the total volume could exceed 100 billion dollars with the inclusion of engines in this figure.
Last month, India had also accelerated its steps toward increasing international economic cooperation by signing a trade agreement with the European Union.