India and the European Union have resumed negotiations on a free trade agreement after nine years of stagnation, the Indian Ministry of Industry and Commerce said On Thursday.
Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyoush Goyal and European Commission Executive Vice-president Valdis Dombrovsky announced the formal resumption of negotiations on the India-EU free trade Agreement at an event held at the EU headquarters on June 17, NDTV reported. The first round of talks between the two sides is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on June 27, India’s commerce and Industry ministry said.
It would be one of the most important free trade agreements for India, as the EU is its second-largest trading partner after the US. New Delhi: Trade in goods between India and the EU hit a record high of $116.36 billion in 2021-2022, up 43.5% year-on-year. India’s exports to the EU rose 57% to $65 billion in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
India is now the EU’s 10th largest trading partner, and an EU study before Britain’s “Brexit” said a trade deal with India would bring benefits worth $10 billion. The two sides began talks on a free trade agreement in 2007 but put the talks on hold in 2013 because of disagreements over tariffs on cars and wine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to India in April, Indian President Narendra Modi’s visit to Europe in May accelerated discussions on the FTA and established a roadmap for negotiations.
Post time: Aug-09-2022