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Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that in the talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, the focus is on what is acceptable to both countries and not allow sensitive issues to scuttle the discussions. He also said that student visas are never part of a FTA. India has recently concluded the sixth round of talks with the UK and the next round will be held soon.

Goyal said FTAs are never negotiated either in newspaper articles, news conferences or in public functions, and these agreements are ‘serious’ functions that happened amongst officials and at higher political levels also discussed when required. That's hardcore negotiations and it has to be a win-win for both countries. Talking about the proposed trade deal with Canada, he said that with Canada, India is looking at an early harvest agreement, which is called an early progress trade agreement. He said ‘in this, we are hoping to capture the low hanging fruits, so that the businesses can start enjoying the fruits faster and when people start seeing the benefits’.

Talking on India's decision to opt out from the trade pillar of the 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the commerce minister said if India would find it in the interest of the country, it will be happy to join that pillar. He said ‘India opted out from the trade pillar because we do not know the final contours, we don't know whether there are any binding commitments, we don't know whether there will be any restrictions which can hurt our manufacturing or hurt our economy.’