India pushes for FTA talks with EU

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal arrived in Paris, France to attend the India-France Business Summit and CEO Roundtable. He held bilateral meetings with several CEOs and French Minister for Foreign Trade, Economic Engagement and Overseas Citizens Olivier Becht.

“The Ministers discussed priority areas related to the FTA negotiations between India and the EU, including issues related to market access,” the ministry said.

India plans to buy 2,000 commercial aircraft in the next 10 years and there is a huge opportunity to manufacture commercial aircraft domestically to meet domestic and international demand, Goyal said. “With the purchase of Rafale fighter jets and the recent Airbus order, India-EU cooperation has been strengthened,” the Commerce and Industry Minister said.

According to Olivier Becht, Minister of Foreign Trade, Economic and Citizenship Abroad of France, bilateral trade between India and France reached USD 15.1 billion in 2021-2022. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) from France to India reached USD 10 billion. France is currently among the leading investors in India.

Earlier, the Head of the FTA Negotiation Team, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry Nidhi Mani Tripathi informed that the fourth round of negotiations on the FTA between India and the EU held in Brussels (Belgium) has just ended. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place from June 12-16 in New Delhi.

The two sides began negotiating a trade deal in 2007, but talks stalled in 2013 as they failed to reach agreement on core issues, including customs duties on cars and spirits and the movement of professionals.

The EU is currently India's second largest trading partner after the US, and India is the EU's ninth largest trading partner, accounting for 2.4% of the EU's total trade. Over the past decade, trade in goods between the EU and India has increased by 41%, and trade in services by 76%. Bilateral trade reached a record high of 116.36 billion USD in 2021-2022, of which India's exports to the EU reached 65 billion USD. Currently, there are 4,500 EU companies operating in India, contributing to the creation of more than 1.5 million direct jobs and 5 million indirect jobs in the country./.

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