High-level meetings of ministers and top officials of India and the UK are scheduled next week to review the progress of talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, a senior government official said on Friday.

The meetings assume significance as both countries have reached a crucial juncture of the FTA negotiations.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal also said that bilateral meetings will also be held with the official teams of the European Union (EU) and Canada.

These teams are coming for the two-day Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) in Jaipur. It is commencing on August 24.

High-level bilateral meetings will be held with countries such as the UK, Canada and EU to discuss progress with regard to proposed free trade agreements, he told reporters here while briefing about the TIMM.

Negotiations on such agreements are underway with all these countries.

"This G20 ministerial meeting is useful for us to conduct some of the important bilaterals with respect to our FTAs. The UK is coming with their team. We will be having high-level meetings with the UK on FTA," Barthwal said.

There will be also discussions on what "we have done" so far with respect to Canada and the EU, he said adding EU executive vice president and DG trade are coming to India.

The 12th round of talks between India and the UK is in progress here.

Out of the total 26 chapters in the proposed FTA, 19 have been closed. Investment is being negotiated as a separate agreement (bilateral investment treaty) between India and the UK.

The main issues which could come up for discussion in this round include investment treaty, reduction of duties on auto and whiskey, rules of origin, intellectual property rights and matters pertaining to services.

The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT, and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duties.

On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, automobiles, lamb meat, and certain confectionary items.

Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments such as telecommunications, legal and financial services like banking.

The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.

The Indian industry has demanded that a minimum import price of whiskey that is subject to lower customs duty should be USD 5 per 750 ml bottle to prevent cheap imports.

The industry is positive about cutting the duty on bulk imports of scotch whiskey to be rebottled in India as rebottling would lead to value addition locally.

India has overtaken France to become the UK’s largest market of Scotch whisky in terms of volume with a 60 per cent hike in imports in 2022 over the previous year, according to Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).

In 2021, Maharashtra slashed excise duty on imported scotch whiskey to 150 per cent from 300 per cent to bring its price on par with that in other states.

According to certain estimates, Delhi and Maharashtra account for two-thirds of the scotch whiskey sold in India.

On FTA negotiations with Canada, the commerce ministry has stated that the 9th round of talks was held last month. Issues in the negotiations include goods, trade remedies, rules of origin and services.

Further, the secretary said that US Trade Secretary Katherine Tai will be here to participate in the TIMM.

When asked about issues which could be discussed during a bilateral meeting with her, Barthwal said that they are finalising the agenda and the meeting "will be a follow up of Prime Minister's (Narendra Modi) visit to the US (in June)". PTI RR RR MR

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