The legal scrubbing of the proposed India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA) is expected to be completed within the next 15-20 days, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday, indicating that the trade pact has entered its final stage before signing.
Speaking at the National Export Excellence Awards, Goyal said he had spoken to his European Union counterpart a day earlier and would travel to Spain, Belgium, including Brussels, and Finland next week to advance trade engagements.
"We are working to complete the legal scrubbing of the India-EU FTA in the next 15-20 days," Goyal said.
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Highlighting the opportunities created by India's growing network of trade agreements, the minister urged the domestic leather industry to build globally recognised Indian brands rather than remain contract manufacturers.
"We should introduce Indian designer leather brands in the 38 developed economies with which India has free trade agreements," Goyal said, adding that preferential market access under these pacts can help Indian exporters scale up significantly.
Goyal expressed confidence that the leather sector could witness a sharp increase in overseas shipments over the coming years.
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"I expect India's leather industry exports to rise threefold over the next five to seven years from the current level of about $4.5 billion," he said.
The proposed India-EU FTA is expected to deepen trade and investment ties between India and one of its largest trading partners by reducing tariffs, easing market access and strengthening economic cooperation across sectors.
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