“I agreed to close 10 out of 20 chapters”

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said India is working with the European Union for a fair, equitable and balanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He added that significant progress had already been made in the ongoing negotiations.

Piyush Goyal returned to India from Brussels after a three-day official visit. He said he had productive discussions with Maros Sefcovic, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, on outstanding issues related to the India-EU FTA negotiations.

He indicated that the two parties had agreed to close “10 chapters out of 20” and that “four or five” chapters were being “decided”.

“We have agreed to close 10 chapters out of 20. Four or five other chapters have, in principle, been largely decided, and on more and more issues we are moving towards convergence,” Goyal added.

He added that the EU team would travel next week for the next round of negotiations.

He also said both sides will make “significant and substantial progress toward closure.”

He said both sides recognized each other’s sensitivities and strengths during the negotiations.

“More and more countries and almost all businesses today want to expand their relationships with a resurgent India, strong, decisive, democratic and full of ambition, full of youth, talent and skills, with growing consumer demand and the fastest growing large economy, doubling every eight years,” he said.

He said that in Brussels, India had raised concerns over non-tariff measures and new EU regulations.

At the international forum, Minister Goyal reiterated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “India has once again demonstrated that we speak for the Global South. We represent the voice of the less privileged, less developed or developing economies, and stand for collective action for the good, peace and prosperity of the world.”

The European Union restarted negotiations on June 17, 2022. Both sides decided to conclude the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025.