Procurement a sticking point in India-Australia FTA talks

India has decided not to include access to its government procurement market in ongoing free-trade agreement (FTA) talks with Australia and New Zealand.

The issue has been contentious with countries seeking access to India’s lucrative public procurement market through FTAs. The Indian commerce ministry has of late been tight-lipped over the insistence of the European Union for access to the market—something the government opposes.

While India included a chapter on the subject in its comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Japan, it did not give any special concessions.

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