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| India will not rush into signing free trade deals, says Union Minister | | |  Agencies
NEW DELHI, Feb 23: India will not rush into signing free trade agreements (FTA) unless there is an equitable and fair balance in trade deals, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
"We should never rush trade negotiations, they are going to impact the country for years and years to come," Goyal said at an event organised by an independent think tank.
The minister was responding to a question on India's trade negotiations with the UK and the European Union (EU) becoming more complicated.
India and the UK had expected to conclude a free trade deal around late 2022, and have shied away from committing to a deadline since. India and the EU restarted negotiations for a trade deal in 2022 after differences over what to expect from the deal led to a nine-year lull.
A deal between India and the UK is crucial for New Delhi, which hopes to become a bigger exporter, while the UK would get wider access for its whisky, premium cars and legal services.
India and the EU revived negotiations in 2022 to forge a free trade agreement that could act as a counterbalance to China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Goyal also said India will take up EU's carbon border adjustment tax strongly within rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and will also address the issue bilaterally.
India plans to protest the EU's proposed carbon tax on imports of steel, iron ore and cement at the next meeting of the WTO to be held in Abu Dhabi from Feb. 26 to 29.
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