FTA strategy tweaks on cards to maximise gains

Underscoring the need for a "careful" assessment of guidelines to negotiate free-trade agreements (FTAs), India is "taking it slow" and recalibrating its strategy to ensure it is able to maximise trade and investment gains from such pacts, two people aware of the matter said.

- SHREYA NANDI

The Department of Commerce is planning to seek the Union Cabinet's approval to implement fresh guidelines for negotiating FTAs, one of the persons cited above said.

It is also learnt that a high-level meeting between top commerce department officials and the Prime Minister's Office took place over the weekend to discuss the standard operating procedure (SOP) for FTAs.

The need for drafting the SOP comes against the backdrop not only of its past FTA experience, but also of the growing importance of sustainability and issues such as government procurement, labour, and digital trade being part of modern trade deals.

There's also a realisation that creating an institutional memory for future negotiations is critical and should be part of the new SOP.