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| India wants removal of trade barriers in FTA with EU |
| Press Trust Of India / New Delhi Mar 17, 2009, 00:38 IST |
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India will convey to the European Union on Tuesday that it wants the issues of technical and non-tariff barriers addressed in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Officials are meeting here to resume negotiations for concluding an India-EU trade deal that should have been sealed last year. However, due to contentious issues the market- opening pact was delayed.
“India’s real emphasis will be on the content and we want to make sure that the discussions are not only on the lines of tariff reduction. We will take upfront the issues of technical barrier to trade...,” a commerce ministry official said.
India is concerned over the individual EU members resorting to non-trade barriers for Indian goods in a difficult global market.
The Indian negotiators would work for a “real access to EU markets” not only in terms of tariff reduction but also removal of trade curbs.
During the three-day meeting, both sides will also deliberate on opening trade in goods and services and protection of intellectual property rights. Issues of bio-diversity and protection of traditional knowledge from a blatant patenting would also figure in the talks.
While the negotiations for the FTA began in June 2007, the two sides are yet to make any ‘offers’ or ‘concessions’.
EU is India’s largest economic partner with trade in goods worth about 46 billion euros and in services roughly 10 billion euros. India’s main exports to the EU include textiles, chemicals and machinery, while imports include machinery and transport equipment.
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