In September, India and the European Union (EU) are preparing to organize another round of negotiations on their proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
This development comes when both parties exchanged offers related to the service sector last week, which was a confirmed official on Tuesday.
What happened in the last round of interviews?
Latya Srinivas, a special secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, said the 12 round of interviews recently closed in Brussels, PTI said.
“We have exchanged our offers for services and nans,” he said, adding: “We also discussed the key interests of market access.”
The upcoming 13 round will be held in the first September, confirmed by Srinivas.
Optimism in the air
In June 2022, India and the 27 EU Bloc renewed negotiations on free trade agreement, an agreement on investment protection and an agreement on geographical indications (GIS) after an eight-year break.
The interviews stopped in 2013 due to differences in the market opening level, the press agency reported.
Both sides are optimistic, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission, who agreed on 28 February to conclude a highly anticipated free trade agreement by the end of this year.
What are the key requirements?
The EU has already sought significant cuts on objects such as cars and medical devices.
In addition, the block also demanded a reduction in taxes to products such as wine, spirits, meat, poultry and a strong intellectual ownership regime.
If the pact is successfully closed, Indian goods to the EU, such as finished clothing, pharmacies, steel, oil products and electric machines, may be more competitive.
Areas covered with a business contract
Negotiations on commercial contracts in India-Eu are complex and cover more than 23 areas of politics. Belongs to this
- Trade in goods and services
- Investment
- Sanitary and phytosanitic measures
- The technical obstacles to the store
- Remedies
- The rules of origin
- Customs and business facilitating
- Competition
- Business defense
- Government contracts
- Settlement of disputes
- The rights of intellectual property
- Geographic indications (GIS)
- Sustainable development
India-Eu business relationships
The EU stands as the largest Indian business partner for goods, with bilateral trade in the years 2023-24 reaching $ 137.41 billion.
This number includes exports worth $ 75.92 billion and imports worth $ 61.48 billion.
The EU market represents about 17 % of India’s total exports, while EU exports to India account for 9 % of its total overseas consignments.
In 2023, bilateral trade in services between India and the EU was estimated at $ 51.45 billion, the press agency reported.
(Tagstotranslate) India
