New Delhi [India], May 15 : The 8th round of trade agreement negotiations between India and Peru is expected to take place in July this year and will focus on lowering customs duties, addressing technical barriers to trade, and introducing dispute settlement mechanisms.
Establishing a trade agreement is crucial for India to successfully tap into critical mineral reserves of lithium in the Latin American country.
According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, after the 7th round of negotiations held in New Delhi from April 8-11, 2024, both sides are working on the mutually agreed-upon next steps.
Both countries have discussed the priorities and concerns of each other, ensuring that the negotiations are rooted in mutual respect and benefit during the session, the sources added.
"Understanding one another's interests and concerns was a key component of the talks, as was making sure that the agreements were based on respect and mutual gain," as per the sources.
Among the chapters that were discussed in this round of negotiations were trade in goods and services; movement of natural persons; rules of origin; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; technical barriers to trade; customs procedures and trade facilitation; initial provisions and general definitions; legal and institutional provisions; final provisions; trade remedies; general and security exceptions; dispute settlement; and cooperation.
The negotiations involved about sixty delegates from both sides. Representatives from Peru's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism made up the Peruvian delegation.
The Department of Commerce, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Department of Revenue, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and legal and economic resource representatives were among the Indian delegations.
In another development, the 4th Joint Committee meeting for review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was held on May 7-9, 2024, in Putrajaya, Malaysia (earlier meetings were held in May 2023, August 2023 and February 2024). A total of eight sub-committees (SCs) of AITIGA JC met physically alongside the 4th AITIGA JC.
The JC reviewed the progress of negotiations among the five SCs dealing with 'National Treatment and Market Access', 'Rules of Origin', 'Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards, Technical Regulations, 'Conformity Assessment Procedures' and Legal Institutional Issues', sources said.
JC updated the work plan for review negotiations, provided guidance to SCs and urged them to increase the frequency of their meetings to expedite the review process.
The fifth AITIGA JC meeting is scheduled in Jakarta, Indonesia, from July 29-31, 2024, as per the information shared by sources, who added that both sides are targeting to conclude the AITIGA review in 2025.
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