India committed for early outcome of EU BITA negotiations

NEW DELHI: India is committed to an early and balanced outcome of the European Union ( EU) Broadbased Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) negotiations, Lok Sabha was informed today.

Minister of State for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman said EU BTIA negotiations were underway and 16 rounds of negotiations have been held so far.

"Recently, two rounds of stock-taking meetings have taken place on January 18 and February 22, 2016. We are committed to an early and balanced outcome of the negotiations," she said during Question Hour.

Issues in the India-EU BTIA talks relate to trade in goods and services, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, dispute settlement, customs and trade facilitation and procurement among others.

Sitharaman said the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organisation aims to expedite movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit.

It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customers and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues. It further contains provisions for technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

"These objectives are in consonance with India's 'Ease of Doing Business' initiative," she said.

The Minister said even though India has ratified TFA on April 22, it will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO members have completed their domestic ratification process.

It is expected that the effective implementation of TFA will reduce transaction costs and improve the overall ease of doing business, she said.