PIB | 18 Jun, 2022
In
a joint event held at the Headquarters of the European Union (EU) at
Brussels on Friday, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush
Goyal, and Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of European
Commission formally re-launched the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
negotiations.
Besides, negotiations were also launched for a stand-alone
Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indicators
(GIs) Agreement.
Last
year, in the India and EU Leaders’ Meeting held in Porto on 8th May
2021, an agreement was reached for resuming negotiations for a balanced,
ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA and starting fresh
negotiations on the IPA and a separate agreement on GIs.
Both partners
are now resuming the FTA talks after a gap of about nine years since
the earlier negotiations were left off in 2013 due to difference in the
scope and expectations from the deal.
The
Delhi visit of the European Commission President Ms. Ursula von der
Leyen in April 2022, and the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s recent
visit to Europe accelerated the FTA discussions and helped in defining a
clear roadmap for the negotiations.
This
would be one of the most significant FTAs for India as EU is its second
largest trading partner after the US. The India-EU merchandise trade
has registered an all-time high value of USD 116.36 Billion in 2021-22
with a year-on growth of 43.5%. India’s export to the EU jumped 57% in
FY 2021-22 to $65 billion. India has a surplus trade with EU.
Considering
that both partners have similar fundamental values and common interests
and are two of the largest open market economies, the trade deal will
help to diversify and secure the supply chains, boost economic
opportunities for our businesses, and bring significant benefits to the
people.
Both sides are aiming for the trade negotiations to be
broad-based, balanced and comprehensive, based on the principles of
fairness and reciprocity. There will also be discussions on resolving
the Market Access Issues which are impeding the bilateral trade.
While
the proposed IPA would provide a legal framework for cross-border
investments to enhance the confidence of investors, the GI pact is
expected to establish a transparent and predictable regulatory
environment, to facilitate trade of GI products including handicrafts
and agri-commodities.
Both parties are aiming to negotiate all the
three agreements in parallel and conclude them simultaneously. The
first round of negotiations for all the three agreements will be held
from 27th June to 1st July 2022 in New Delhi.
India
earlier this year has concluded FTAs with Australia and the UAE in a
record time. The FTA talks with Canada and the UK are also underway.
The FTA negotiations are part of India’s broader strategy to forge
balanced trade agreements with key economies and revamp existing trade
pacts to improve trade and investment.