FTAs with UK, Oman may feature in Centre's 100-day agenda for next govt : Official

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak

India's proposed trade pacts with the United Kingdom (UK) and Oman may feature in the Centre's 100-day agenda, a plan outlining the immediate steps to be taken by the next government following its formation in June 2024.

"Since talks on most of the chapters have been concluded for the Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Oman and UK, these two may be included in the 100-day agenda," a government official told Moneycontrol.

This means that the trade pacts with UK and Oman are likely to be signed after the new government takes charge.

Confident of returning to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Niti Aayog, and the Principal Scientific Adviser to supervise an agenda for the first 100 days of the next government, according to media reports.

The 100-day agenda for the next government is expected to focus on the aim to turn India, currently categorised as a developing country, into a developed nation by 2047. This vision is expected to outline steps in areas pertaining to economic growth, sustainable development goals, ease of living, ease of doing business, infrastructure, and social welfare, among others.

The official added that since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in place, the trade deals will not be signed before the new government assumes office and there are no plans to seek permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ink these FTAs while the MCC is in force.

The MCC comes into force as soon as election dates are announced, which all political parties have to adhere to.

The MCC norms limit the government and ministers from announcing new pacts or measures, including financial grants or ad-hoc appointments that may influence the voters in favour of the party in power. This means India will be able to push through key FTAs, which are inching closer to finality, once the new government takes up the mantle.

Lok Sabha elections in India will take place in seven phases from April 19 to June 1 and the votes will be counted on June 4.

Progress on FTAs
India has been negotiating key trade deals with the UK and Oman, talks for both of which are at an advanced stage.

While negotiations over a majority of the chapters in the India-UK FTA are either closed or are at advanced stages, talks for the pact with Oman have been largely concluded.

Negotiations between India and the UK for a trade agreement began on January 2022 with an initial deadline of Diwali 2022. There are 26 chapters in the pact, which include goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. So far, 14 rounds of talks have been conducted between the two sides.

India-UK FTA talks unlikely to conclude before Lok Sabha polls: Official

The first round of talks between India and Oman took place in New Delhi on November 27-29, 2023, while the second was held in Muscat on December 9-14, 2023.

Though significant progress has been made on talks for the proposed trade pacts with the UK and Oman, a few sticking points remain.

For the trade pact between India and Oman, the two sides are yet to resolve issues around customs duty concessions on certain petrochemical products used primarily in the plastics industry, while with the UK, a sticking point is London's reluctance over New Delhi's stand on utilisation of local components for British automakers.

India, Oman FTA talks may not conclude before election dates are announced: Official