India suggests EU to resume stalled FTA negotiations

NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested her European Union counterpart Cecilia Malmström to resume the long-stalled negotiations over the proposed free trade agreement.

Sitharaman today tweeted that she "suggested chief negotiators should start talks on Ind-EU BTIA".

Both the ministers met on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's ( OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting yesterday in Paris.

The negotiations launched in 2007 for the proposed Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have seen many hurdles with both sides having major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime.

Before this meeting, senior officials from both the sides had met twice this year to resolve the contentious issues.

The pact is aimed at reducing or significantly eliminating tariffs on goods, facilitate trade in services and boost investments between the two sides.

The two-way commerce in goods between India and the EU stood at USD 98.5 billion in 2014-15.

Between 2007 and 2013, about 16 rounds of negotiations have happened.

India wants data security status, relaxations in movement of professionals, real market access in terms of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (norms related with plants and animals); and technical barriers to trade measures adopted in EU.

Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, EU wants tax reduction in wines and spirits and dairy products and a strong intellectual property regime.

The negotiations were expected in August last year, but they were deferred by India, expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products, clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.