Trade talks between India and the EU will enter the new year and a deal is expected to be signed by Republic Day, according to European Union (EU) trade chief Maros Sefcovic.
Trade talks between India and the EU will begin within the year and a deal is expected to be signed by Republican Day, the European Union’s (EU) top trade official has said.
“The plan is that, most likely in the second week of January, (Indian Commerce Minister) Piyush Goyal will come here” for another round of negotiations, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told Politico on Monday.
Sefcovic added: “There is a common determination that we should do everything possible to achieve (the free trade agreement) and use every possible day until the Indian National Day. »
Initially, India and the EU had said they hoped to reach a trade deal by the end of the year, but numerous issues that have arisen since then mean a deal is now expected by January 26, when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa will arrive in New Delhi to join the Republic Day celebration as chief guests.
Sefcovic said trade negotiations would ideally have been over by now, but that was not the case.
Last week, Sefcovic was in New Delhi for talks with Indian officials. Coincidentally, a US delegation was also in New Delhi last week for trade talks.
In the India-EU trade talks, among the outstanding issues, India has raised objections to the EU’s carbon border tax and steel safeguard measures, and the EU has called for a reduction in India’s tariffs on cars.
In addition, the EU has also sought to reduce customs duties on medical devices, wine, spirits, meat and poultry, as well as improve the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. For its part, India has sought to ease non-tariff barriers such as technical and regulatory compliance systems, as well as provide greater access to Indian services and professionals through clearer rules of origin and customs procedures.
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