Negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and Oman are complete and a deal will be finalised by the end of 2025, according to a government official aware of the matter.
Only certain textual and drafting nitty-gritties remain and will be taken care of very soon, the official told NDTV Profit on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity.
The negotiations for the agreement, officially dubbed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, formally began in November 2023. In January this year, negotiations caught speed following Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's visit to Muscat, where the pact was discussed with Oman Minister of Commerce Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef.
Oman is the third-largest export destination among the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for India, which already has a similar agreement with another GCC member UAE that came into effect in May 2022.
South American Trade Deal
The Indian government is looking at expanding its current deal with Mercosur — a trade bloc comprising major South American economies like Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Trade with countries in Latin America is currently underutilised but has massive potential. India is looking to expand from the current preferential trade agreement to a full free-trade agreement with more tariff lines being covered, according to the official.
The aim is to take coverage from the current 450 tariff lines to at least 80–90% of all tariff lines, the official said. For reference, India has about 8,500 tariff lines.
India's preferential trade agreement with Mercosur came into effect on June 1, 2009. The aim is to take India's trade with Latin America from the current level of about $35 billion to $50 billion with Mercosur countries, and $100 billion with all Latin American countries, including the Caribbean.
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