Parliament was informed recently that negotiations on the comprehensive free trade pact between India and the European Union (EU), which got underway in June 2007, had reached an "advanced and delicate stage".
It may be recalled that India was in talks with the EU for liberalising commerce in goods, services and investment through the bilateral broad-based trade and investment agreement. At present, the 27-nation bloc is India’s biggest trading partner.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, informed that while 13 rounds of negotiations had been held till date, the legal texts of the proposed agreement, in all the concerned areas, have been exchanged and are under discussion.
According to the Minister, the areas covered include the following: trade in goods, services, investment, technical barriers to trade, Customs cooperation, trade facilitation and IPRs.
Source: Exim News Service: NEW DELHI, Aug. 3