India and the European Union concluded the 14th round of talks in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Brussels, expressing a desire to seal the deal by December. The conference was a five-day negotiation session that took place between October 6 and 10, with the aim of resolving differences in goods and services trade. At the final level, the Indian delegation's Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agrawal, was tasked with giving the negotiations a push.
Agrawal also held a meeting with Sabine Weyand, the Director-General in charge of trade at the European Commission, to discuss some of the remaining challenges. Both parties were hopeful to seal the long-awaited trade agreement within the stipulated deadline. Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, is scheduled to meet his counterpart in the EU, Maros Sefcovic, later in Brussels to hold a high-level review in the coming weeks.
In June 2022, India and the EU resumed trade negotiations that had been stalled for eight years (since 2013) due to disagreements over market access and tariff liberalization. The reclaimed talks encompass 23 chapters covering tariffs in the form of goods and services, investment, sanitary norms, technical obstacles, customs acts, intellectual property, and green development.
The EU aims to extend tariff reductions to other sectors, including automobiles and medical devices, and lower duties on wine, spirits, meat, and poultry. It also seeks to enjoy better intellectual property safeguards. India, on the other hand, is exerting pressure on the European market to allow its goods and services to gain better access into the market, especially in their textile, pharmaceutical, steel, petroleum products, and electrical equipment sectors.
As of 2023, the value of services trade between the two partners was USD 51.45 billion, highlighting the growing significance of bilateral cooperation in areas beyond merchandise trade. This achievement could enable the Indian product to become more competitive in the European market, offering European firms better access to one of the world's rapidly growing economies.
Although both parties have been confident of striking a deal, there are still some differences in significant areas. India has also voiced concerns about EU trade policies related to climate issues, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment and sustainability reporting. The negotiators are trying to reach a middle ground that will cater to environmental interests without increasing uncompetitiveness in India's industry.
The FTA talks can proceed at unprecedented speed with considerable political support from both New Delhi and Brussels. The governments on both sides aim to finalize the deal by the end of December, which would be a significant achievement in Indian-EU economic relations and strengthen their role in global trade.