Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said resolving non-tariff barriers would be crucial for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union.
Goyal, who is on an official visit to Sweden to meet his counterpart, made these remarks in Stockholm while addressing the reporters, news agency PTI reported. He further added that both sides are working actively to resolve these issues, adding that the two sides are “pretty” close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
Speaking to reporters, Goyal said, “Significant progress has been made. More than half the chapters are ready. In terms of content, I would say we are almost 90 per cent ready for market access. The important issues to be addressed are non-tariff barriers and how we will make it smoother, easier, and better to do business between the EU and India.”
Crucial Indian exports that face high barriers in the EU include chillies, tea, Basmati rice, milk, poultry, bovine meat, fish, and chemical products.
He also claimed that talks between the two sides are ongoing to find solutions to make business smooth for companies of both sides. Goyal said, “Unless countries recognise that overregulation and trade barriers will be met with reciprocal action, everybody suffers. We are committed to deregulation, to finding solutions to the high cost of regulation, the non-tariff barriers that these regulations cause, and the impediments to free trade. I am quite hopeful that we will find very robust solutions to this problem.”
Goyal’s remarks come just days after he claimed that the FTA between India and the four-nation European bloc (EFTA) will bring stability, predictability, and continuity to businesses in the regions.
Earlier in February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to seal a much-awaited free trade deal as concerns rose over US President Donald Trump’s policy on tariffs.
The negotiations between India and the EU bloc resumed in June 2022, after a gap of over eight years. It stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets.