NEW DELHI: A free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will take longer as negotiations with the 27-country bloc will be prolonged, according to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
Active negotiations for the FTAs (free trade agreements) are going on with two-three countries and the EU, Goyal said speaking at the Technotex event here organised by industry chamber Ficci. “EU will take a longer time, because there are 27 countries which have to come on the same page,” the minister said.
Last year, India had signed FTAs with Australia and United Arab Emirates. Reports had suggested that the country is in talks with other countries including the United Kingdom, Israel and Canada.
Goyal said the Government was mulling coming out with a production linked incentive scheme for the finished goods sector, but did not elaborate on the same.
He said the Government had received applications for only Rs 250 crore for research and development purposes in textiles, despite allocating Rs 1,400 crore fund for the same under the technical textiles research mission, and urged the industry to step up its efforts.
The minister said there was tremendous potential in the technical or man-made textiles business, and asked the industry to increase its investments, saying the Indian market will grow faster than the current 10-12 per cent.
The $22-billion industry should conservatively aim to be $125 billion in size by 2047, Goyal said, asking participants to focus more on exports as well.
