India and the European Union (EU) will discuss the Product Specific Rules of Origin (PSRs) during the forthcoming 8th round of negotiation for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides. Both sides have already completed discussion on several issues in the previous seven rounds of negotiations. Ahead of the 8th round, Manmade And Technical Textiles Export Promotion Council (MATEXIL, formerly SRTEPC) has invited views of all the stakeholders in the Indian textile sector on the Product Specific Rules of Origin (PSRs).
MATEXIL has issued a list of textiles and textile articles falling under Chapters 50 to 63, requesting its members to provide inputs on the matter. It has also provided details of textiles and textile articles falling under the said chapters and its viewpoints on these products.
The council has said in a letter sent to its members that India has been negotiating with EU to have a beneficial FTA. “The proposed 8th round of negotiation will be held shortly. As we understand, this will be a breakthrough FTA providing Duty Free Market Access for Indian textile products in the UK markets,” MATEXIL said to its members.
During the forthcoming 8th round of negotiation, among other subjects, PSRs will also be discussed. Product Specific Rules means the rules that specify that the non-originating materials have undergone a change in tariff classification or a specific manufacturing or processing operation, or satisfy qualifying value content criterion, or a combination of any of these criteria.
The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry has sent a list of tariff lines seeking inputs on the PSRs proposed by the EU. In this regard, the Council has made an exercise to prepare a list of draft PSRs.
The council has requested its members to give their valuable inputs for the PSRs on the tariff lines of manmade and blended textiles covered under Chapters 54 to 63. The inputs will be accepted by the council till June 6, 2024.
