Free trade agreements with US, EU to be concluded soon: Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that negotiations for the proposed free trade agreements with the US and European Union (EU) are progressing at a fast pace and would be concluded soon. All efforts are being made to boost exports to achieve the ambitious target of $2 trillion by 2030.
India has already signed free trade agreements with the UAE, Australia, and 4-nation EFTA (European Free Trade Association) bloc and negotiations have been completed with the UK, she said adding ‘with the US and the European Union, negotiations are really intensely going on and should come to conclusion sooner.’ The emphasis now is on concluding more free trade agreements.
She also mentioned Budget announcements of Export Promotion Mission and Bharat Trade Net, a digital public infrastructure which provides a unified platform for trade documentation and financing solutions. The Budget also proposed a National Framework for Global Capability Centres (GCC) to further support services-led growth in emerging tier 2 cities and Trade Facilitation Measures.
Referring to the country’s exports, she said total exports of goods and services reached a record high of $825 billion in FY25, achieving 6 per cent growth over previous year. This is a significant leap from $466 billion in FY14. She said while global exports grew by only 4 per cent, India’s exporters managed to fast-track and cross growth of 6.3 per cent despite global uncertainties on trade front.
