New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said negotiations for a proposed India-Peru free trade agreement (FTA) are unlikely to conclude anytime soon, citing concerns over market access in certain products.

"There are certain concerns. There are many products where we cannot offer them market access. I do not see Peru FTA happening very soon," he told reporters here on the sidelines of the 17th Toy Biz International B2B Exhibition.

Negotiations for the proposed India-Peru FTA started in 2017.

The bilateral trade between the two countries jumped 67.5 per cent to USD 10 billion (exports USD 1.4 billion, imports USD 8.87 billion) in 2025-26 from USD 5.98 billion in 2024-25.

India had a trade deficit of USD 7.47 billion in the last fiscal year.

Key Indian exports to Peru include motor vehicles/cars, cotton yarn and pharmaceuticals, while imported items include gold, copper ores and concentrates.

According to experts, duty concessions on gold, which account for about 90 per cent of India's imports from Peru, could be the most challenging issue for New Delhi under the proposed FTA with the South American nation.

In 2025-26, India's gold imports from Peru increased 78.45 per cent to USD 7.9 billion from USD 4.43 billion in 2024-25.

INDIA-CANADA TRADE PACT ------------------------------- The minister said a team of Indian officials will be visiting Canada for the next round of negotiations.

"The Canada FTA is progressing well... our team is going on Monday for next round of negotiations. We are trying that we should conclude it in the next six months or so," he said.

The two sides concluded the second round of talks for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) here on May 8.

The negotiations are important as the two sides have fixed a target to increase bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. It stood at USD 7.95 billion in 2025-26, registering a decline of 8.22 per cent from USD 8.7 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4.67 billion exports and USD 3.28 billion imports).

Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and a GDP of USD 2.34 trillion at purchasing power parity.

Key exports from India to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals, among others. Key imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertiliser, paper and petroleum crude.

India's main services sector exports include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services.

Canada is also home to over 4,25,000 Indian students and a strong Indian community. Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Brij Mohan Mishra, is the chief negotiator from the Indian side. Bruce Christie is Canada's chief negotiator.

INDIA-ISREAL FTA --------------------- Goyal said negotiations are going slow due to the ongoing West Asia crisis.

"Israel, as you are aware, is currently having the West Asia crisis. Even then, our negotiations, our discussions are going on, albeit a little slow. Let us hope that we can fast-track it after the peace process is over," he said.

On February 24, India and Israel started the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) here with the aim to further boost commercial ties and promote investments, an official had said.

INDIA-EU TTC ---------------- Goyal also informed that on July 13, he will be travelling with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw to Brussels for the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting.

"Our effort is that it becomes a supplement to the FTA which we have finalised and will help us to smoothen the edges and make it easier to implement the FTA going forward," he said.

India and the 27-nation bloc EU has announced conclusion of negotiations for the trade pact. Both sides are finishing the legal scrubbing exercise of the pact text.

It is likely to be signed by the end of this year and may be implemented in 2027.

The second meeting of the India-EU TTC took place here on February 28, 2025. It was co-chaired on the Indian side by these three ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had established the India-EU TTC in April 2022 as a key bilateral platform to address challenges at the confluence of trade, trusted technology and security.

The TTC reflects a shared acknowledgement between the EU and India of the increasingly critical links between trade and technology, the potential of cooperation on these issues to enhance the economies of both partners, and the need to work together on the related security challenges.

The first meeting of the India-EU TTC was held in Brussels on May 16, 2023. Subsequently on November 24, 2023, a stock-taking meeting in virtual mode reviewed the progress made by the three TTC working groups on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance, and Digital Connectivity; Clean and Green Technologies; and Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains. PTI RR TRB

Free trade negotiations face market access hurdles as India advances talks with Canada, Israel and the EU framework. Negotiations for the proposed India-Peru free trade agreement remain stalled because of concerns over market access in sensitive products, especially duty concessions on gold. Talks with Canada are progressing under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement framework, with officials aiming to conclude the pact within the next six months or so. Negotiations with Israel are continuing more slowly because of the West Asia crisis, while the India-EU Trade and Technology Council is being used as a complementary mechanism to support implementation of the concluded trade pact.