India holds trade talks with Japan, UK on sidelines of G-7 meet in Osaka

New Delhi : Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday held bilateral talks on trade and investment in separate meetings with Japan Trade Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi and the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch in Osaka.

Held a meeting with @Nishy03 , Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, on the sidelines of the G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Osaka.

Deliberated on adding further impetus to India-Japan trade & investment ties across diverse sectors, Goyal said in post on social media platform X. 

Both ministers are in Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) trade ministers meeting in Osaka.

The bilateral trade between the two countries has surged after signing of the CEPA and crossed US$20.0 billion in FY2022, However, India’s trade deficit has nearly doubled with Japan in a span of 11 years to US$8.2 billion. 

India’s imports from Japan depicted a CAGR growth of 1.6 percent while India’s exports to Japan declined by 0.3 per cent from 2012 to 2022.

Both the governments are working towards a mutually beneficial trade relationship with the Government of India emphasising on the ‘Make in India’ campaign, the PLI scheme, and the diversification of the trade basket, etc., to strengthen its manufacturing sector and make it more competitive. This will aid in increasing its contribution to exports.

Goyal also said on X that he discussed the progress of India-UK free trade agreement negotiations with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch.

The issues being discussed include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

India is seeking greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT, and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty

On the other hand, the UK wants a significant cut in customs duties duties on goods such as Scotch whiskey, automobiles and certain confectionary items such as chocolates.

Goyal also brought up the issue of giving developing countries a fair deal in global trade in another meeting with the Director General of the WTO in Osaka.