Sign FTA by ending unfair trade practices, ‘irrational’ trade barriers: Piyush Goyal urges EU

New Delhi : India on Friday urged the European Union (EU) to sign an outcome-oriented, meaningful free trade agreement (FTA) which ensures mutual benefits for Indian and European firms, saying the process could be fast-tracked if the focus remains on business and trade issues and not on extraneous items falling outside the ambit of FTA.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told the 27-member bloc to do away with unfair trade practices and irrational standards which often act as trade barriers.

"Unfair trade rules around deforestation like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) are disrespectful of the Paris Agreement where the developed world was supposed to provide grants to the developing countries and act responsibly," the minister said at the launch of the Federation of European Business (FEBI) in the country.

FEBI will maintain constructive ties with Indian and European authorities, acting as a credible intermediary between government and businesses and an advocacy place for pro-business policies and solutions.

The Commerce Minister further stated that many duties on steel and aluminium products are against global trade rules, stressing the need to look at the trade deficit in the overall context where many European companies based in India often import products from their subsidiaries abroad.

Referring to complaints by Indian companies over their inability to close unviable operations and run-ins with labour-related disputes in the EU, he said that India has been providing a business-friendly environment to all foreign companies.

"India has been largely free of labour-related issues in the past 10 years," Minister Goyal pointed out. Even the retrospective taxation levied on Vodafone by the erstwhile UPA government was reversed by the current regime along with an assurance on the floor of the Parliament that any similar action won't happen again. The huge business opportunity presented by the 1.4 billion-strong Indian market can possibly increase bilateral trade to worth a trillion Euros, he said.

Ambassador of the EU to India, Herve Delphin, said the progress in the FTA has been limited due to fundamental differences despite nine rounds of negotiations already having been completed. Urging both sides to recalibrate their expectations through potential packages of mutual concessions to reach newer frontiers in bilateral trade, he said that any more progress in the FTA was now a political call to be taken by the new European Commission which will be convened by the end of 2024.

Apart from an Investment Protection Agreement alongside an FTA, the EU is also looking forward to a Trade and Technology Commission (TTC) with India, which will be its second after the one with the US. Goyal also urged that extraneous elements not inherent to an FTA shouldn't be allowed to slow down the progress of talks.

Exhorting the EU to work on the principle of cooperation instead of retaliation, Minister Goyal said he will have a dinner meeting with Ambassadors of EU member countries on October 23 to discuss the way ahead.