India pushes for FTA with EU, its second largest export destination

In order to boost the trade and remove the trade barriers with Europe which is India’s second largest export destination, the government is putting the talks with European Union concerning the proposed Broad-based Trade and Investment (BTIA) on “high priority”.

India exported goods worth about $54 billion to the EU in 2019-20, while it imported merchandise worth $52 billion from the block.

The negotiations commenced long back in 2007 and have been dragging on since then. The negotiations enclose Trade in Goods, Trade in services,Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade Remedies, Rules of Origin, Customs and Trade FacilitationServices, Investment, Government Procurement, Dispute Settlement, Intellectual Property Rights & Geographical Indications, Sustainable Development.

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Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said at a Diplomatic and industry leadership session on EU-India, “We are hopeful of working with the EU towards a free trade agreement, possibly starting with a preferential trade agreement.”

“Removing barriers to trade between India and Europe is essential to move forward as the EU is India’s largest trading partner block, with about $105 billion trade in goods in 2019. It is also the second largest destination for Indian exports,” added Goyal.