Monday, August 17
New Delhi: India and EU trade ministers have directed officials to resolve pending issues and expedite the negotiations to finalise the proposed free trade agreement, an official statement said on Saturday.Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic met in Brussels and took stock of progress of negotiations. The two-day visit of Goyal concluded on January 9. "Both leaders provided guidance to negotiating teams to resolve pending issues and expedite the agreement," the commerce ministry said.The meetings focused on reviewing the progress achieved across various negotiating tracks including Market Access for Goods, Rules of Origin, and Services.The ministerial engagement was preceded by high-level discussions between Commerce
Markets saw a sharp weekly sell-off, dragged down by weak global cues and growing uncertainty. Selling pressure deepened in the latter half, keeping sentiment firmly negative. The Sensex dropped 2.55% to 83,576.24, while the Nifty fell 2.45% to 25,683.30, one of the steepest declines in recent months. Broader markets underperformed, highlighting a clear risk-off mood.Global factors weighed heavily on sentiment, with concerns over sharply higher US tariffs on Indian exports and lingering uncertainty around India US trade ties fuelling risk aversion. Geopolitical tensions involving the US and Venezuela further dented confidence, while sustained FII selling, with net selling throughout the week, added to the pressure on equities.With this, analyst Sudeep Shah, Vice President and Head of Techn
