India, Peru to hold next round of FTA talks in August

India and Peru will hold the fifth round of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in August to boost bilateral commerce and investment.

In the fourth round of talks, held between March 11 and 15 this year in Lima, both sides discussed issues like customs procedures, trade facilitation, market access for goods and movement of professionals.

The main chapters of the agreement include trade in services, movement of professionals, investments, dispute settlement, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, rules of origin of goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, according to a news agency report.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president Ganesh Kumar Gupta said Peru holds enormous opportunities for domestic exports and the FTA would help boost exports between the two countries.

Peru ranks third among export destinations for India in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region. Bilateral trade between the two nations rose to $3.13 billion in 2017-18 from $1.77 billion in the previous fiscal.

India’s exports to Peru include cotton yarn and fabrics, motor vehicles, auto components, tyres, dyes and iron and steel products. Imports include bulk minerals and ores, gold, fertilisers, aluminium, coffee, crude oil and zinc.