Imp to resume India-EU free trade pact talks at earliest, without pre-conditions: Com Min

The commerce ministry said Tuesday it is important to resume long-stalled talks for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU) at the earliest and without any pre-conditions.

"It is important to resume negotiations at the earliest and without pre-conditions. Any FTA (free trade agreement) has to be balanced and mutually beneficial. India has been sensitive to EU's concerns and has gone an extra mile to be accommodative," the ministry said in a statement.

The matter was discussed between the ministers of India and Czech Republic.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary held discussions to boost trade and investment with Marta Novakova, Minister of Industry and Trade of Czech Republic, the statement said.

It said that the two sides reaffirmed their support to finalise an ambitious and balanced Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) between India and the EU. BTIA is a kind of comprehensive free trade agreement.

"The Czech side noted that India is one of the most important partners for the EU and liberalisation of our markets would be beneficial in the long term for both sides," it said.

The India side stated that it is committed for an early and balanced outcome of the BTIA negotiations, it added.

The negotiations for the pact have been held up since May 2013 as both the sides are yet to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues.

Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed BTIA have witnessed many hurdles with both sides having major differences on key issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime.

Further the statement said that India Czech Republic Tuesday discussed ways to boost the bilateral trade as the current level does not fully reflect the existing potential.

"The joint commission expressed the opinion that the level of trade does not fully reflect the existing potential and should be further realised," the ministry said in a statement.

Bilateral trade between the countries stood at USD 1.07 billion in 2017-18. It was same in the previous fiscal also.

Both the sides observed that tourism was an important area having great potential for increased interaction.

"In 2017, the number of tourists from India reached almost 100 thousand people. The number of Czech tourists to India grew up as well last year, though this number is more modest approximately 13,000 people," it said.