Brussels will host a crucial meeting of top officials from India and the EU next week which could decide the fate of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two trading partners.
“Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia and EU’s Director-General of Trade Jean-Luc Demarty are scheduled to meet in Brussels on February 22 to take a call on whether there is enough ground for the two sides to get back to the negotiating table for the FTA,” a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine . Last month officials from both sides met in New Delhi for a stock-taking meeting to break the ice after more than a two-year gap in negotiations.
Negotiations on the India-EU free trade pact, officially called the broad-based trade and investment agreement (BTIA), were unofficially suspended in 2013 after the two sides refused to budge on tricky issues.
While the EU wanted greater market access in wines and spirits and automobiles, India demanded more visas for its professionals in all member states and extension of data secure status (a certification stating that online data is well-protected) that would help it get more off-shore business from Europe.
“The two top officials, in their meeting, would analyse whether the two countries were prepared to move beyond the point where talks were suspended,” the official said.
For instance, an assurance on extension of data secure status remains an important pre-requisite for India. It also expects more market access for goods and services than what was being offered earlier as it is in a position to offer more in areas such as banking and insurance because of recent liberalisation of the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
“We are in a position to offer more now than two years back because of autonomous liberalisation that has happened in the country since then. We expect commensurate offers,” the official said.
Automobiles and alcohol, however, remain sensitive areas for India, and it would have to weigh its options carefully before offering more than what was on offer before.
Two-way trade between India and the EU is well balanced and is around $100 billion annually. Exports to the EU account for about 16 per cent of India’s total exports.