NEW DELHI: Significant progress has been made in negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU), an official said on Thursday. Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in Brussels last week to meet European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to take stock of the progress of the negotiations.
“Notable progress has been made on the India-EU FTA. There is significant progress in the negotiations,” the official said, without disclosing further details.
During the meeting between Goyal and Sefcovic, both sides agreed to develop a commercially meaningful trade agenda and work towards a mutually beneficial trade pact.
The two leaders also set policy directions for the two teams to develop a mutually beneficial trade and investment agenda and a strong FTA in an accelerated manner to address global challenges.
The meeting comes ahead of the 10th round of negotiations between India and the EU, scheduled for March 10-14 in Brussels.
In the ninth round, the two sides discussed trade issues covering goods, services, investments and government procurement, as well as necessary rules such as rules of origin, SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) measures and technical barriers to trade.
In June 2022, India and the 27-member European bloc resumed negotiations after a hiatus of more than eight years. It was blocked in 2013 due to differences on several issues.
Total trade stood at $180 billion in 2023-24. India exported $75.18 billion worth of goods and $31.13 billion worth of services to the EU, while the EU exported $63.44 billion worth of goods and $31.35 billion worth of dollars of services to India.
At the same time, the ministry said, the EU is also an important source of foreign direct investment, with total FDI estimated at $117.34 billion.
About The Author
