India and EU Strengthen Mutual Understanding on Ambitions and Sensitivities

India and the EU have deepened their understanding of each other’s ambitions and sensitivities, with significant mutual benefits expected from the proposed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), says Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security.

 

“We have agreed to focus our attention on building a commercially meaningful market access package in industrial goods and services. We are aiming for a win-win outcome that supports our two economies in developing clean tech supply chains that will be fit for decades to come,” said Šefčovič following a two-day high-level trade and investment dialogue with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Brussels.

 

Key negotiation areas include tariff reductions, enhanced market access for goods and services, intellectual property protection, trade in services, investment protection, government procurement, and sustainability issues such as environmental and labour standards. Additionally, discussions focus on data protection and flow, rules of origin (ROO), regulatory harmonization, standard alignment, and trade dispute resolution mechanisms.