Representatives of India and the European Union (EU) will meet this week to take stock of progress in the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, officials said. Ministry of Commerce.
The meeting, which will be co-chaired by the Commerce Secretary of India and the Director General (Trade) of the EU, will also discuss issues from the Trade and Technology Council and prepare for the next round of high-level dialogues. level and political level commitments on India-EU FTA.
According to the European Commission report on the 9th round of India-EU FTA negotiations held in New Delhi from September 23 to 27, both sides were unable to propose a concrete date for the next (10th) round of negotiations. negotiations as such The assessment of the progress of the negotiations after years of intensive talks was pending at the political level.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 12.2% of India’s total trade, surpassing the United States (10.8%) and China (10.5%). The region is the second largest destination for Indian exports (17.5% of the total) after the United States (17.6%).
The most recent round of talks – the ninth round of the India-EU AFT negotiations had covered 20 policy areas in 78 technical sessions. Both sides focused on core trade issues covering goods, services, investment and government procurement as well as necessary rules such as rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, barriers Trade Techniques (TBT) and trade measures.
The European Commission’s report on the 9th round of India-EU TFA negotiations said that good progress was made on SPS measures, dispute resolution and good regulatory practices during the 9th round.
Indian officials said India’s concerns continuing from previous rounds of negotiations were also taken up with the EU during the 9th round of discussions. Indian industry and other stakeholders are concerned about the impact of EU national laws on various sustainability measures like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and deforestation regulation as it may harm their export prospects to the EU.
Once the political level assessment occurs, EU negotiators expect the next round of talks to occur in Brussels in the first quarter of 2025.
The India-EU FTA negotiations were revived after a nine-year lull along with fresh talks for a standalone Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indicators Agreement (GIS) in 2022. Previous negotiations were left in 2013 due to differences in the scope and expectations of the agreement.
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