The ninth round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks between India and the European Union (EU) concluded in Brussels today. In response to queries from Business Standard, the European Commission’s trade directorate revealed that while the chief negotiators discussed all aspects of the proposed deal, the technical discussions focused on rules of origin, trade facilitation, trade defence instruments, tariffs and procurement.
Earlier in the year, the European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, had met with his Indian counterpart Anand Sharma in Delhi, with both sides agreeing to conclude the negotiations by October, ahead of the next India-EU summit.
The commission confirmed that the October deadline was reiterated during this week’s talks and that “in order to achieve this goal, contacts will intensify at technical, senior official and political levels.” A team of senior EU officials is expected to visit India in May to take the dialogue forward.
This stepped-up momentum comes despite persisting differences in the negotiating positions of the two sides. Civil society groups have also raised serious concerns over some of the provisions being discussed, adding to the complexity of the talks.
Aside from the core negotiations on trade in goods and services, the non-trade related chapter on “sustainable development” has emerged as the biggest stumbling block to an agreement. The EU wants the FTA to include this chapter, which will entail a commitment by India to adhere to certain labour laws, environmental standards and other human rights principles. For New Delhi, the inclusion of non-trade issues such as these in an FTA is a red line they are unwilling to cross.
However, as a group of European parliamentarians who visited India a few days ahead of the start of this week’s negotiations, made clear, the European parliament is determined to ensure that any trade agreement inked must be linked to human rights issues.
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A further concern raised in the weeks running up to the discussions has to do with the chapter on intellectual property rights. Several civil society groups including the European ones like Medicins Sans Frontieres have contended that by pushing India to impose greater intellectual property protection on medicines, the EU-India FTA could put at risk the lives of needy patients in developing countries.
The European Commission sought to address some of these criticism today, saying that while “both sides agreed that it is in their common interest to have a chapter on intellectual property”, it was also agreed that the provisions of this chapter should in no way “limit India’s capacity to produce and export life-saving medicines”. The commission added that “the enforcement part of the IPR chapter will also make clear that it should not interfere with the trade of generic medicines in transit”.
Since 2008, several consignments of Indian generics have been seized by customs authorities while in transit at European ports. The EU has promised New Delhi to investigate the incidents with a view to ensuring they do not recur, although no concrete measures have yet been announced.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner. In 2008-09, Indian exports to the region were estimated at $39.35 billion, while imports totaled $42.73 billion.