Amidst a potential tariff war being unleased by the US, India and the European Union on Friday agreed to fast track the free trade agreement and conclude it by the year end and also plan to work on several initiatives together including the development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
The issues were agreed upon during the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Friday.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen affirmed that the EU-India Strategic Partnership has delivered strong benefits for their peoples and for the larger global good. They committed to raise this partnership to a higher-level, building upon 20 years of India-EU Strategic Partnership and over 30 years of India-EC Cooperation Agreement,” said the Leaders’ Statement following the visit of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and College of Commissioners to India on February 27 and 28. This is the first such visit after the European Parliamentary elections in June last year.
India and the EU are set to start the tenth round of negotiations from March 10 to March 14 in Brussels.
As per the statement, the leaders’ have tasked their respective negotiating teams to pursue negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, and mutually beneficial FTA with the aim of concluding them within the course of the year, recognising the centrality and importance of growing India-EU trade and economic relations. Officials have been asked to enhance market access and remove trade barriers. They have also been tasked them to advance negotiations on an Agreement on Investment Protection and an Agreement on Geographical Indications
The plan to take forward and complete the India-EU FTA by the year end is significant given that talks between the two have been ongoing for several years. The current FTA talks were relaunched in June 2022.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner and bilateral Goods trade surpassed $137.5 billion in FY2024. “Their complementary trade profiles create strong growth potential, making it essential to fast-track FTA negotiations to unlock further benefits,” said a recent report by Global Trade Research Initiative.
Key sticking points in the talks have been the EU’s demand for lower tariffs on wines, spirits and automobiles as well as more access for agricultural goods. According to an EU official, there has been a “strong commitment from the Indian side on tariffs on cars, wines, spirits, procurement and a number of non-tariff barriers.”
Meanwhile, India has been calling for a review of the carbon tax by the EU that is set to be imposed on sectors such as steel, cement and aluminium.
