India-EU complete 13 rounds of negotiations for trade pact; next round in Oct

India has completed 13 rounds of negotiations with the European Union for the free trade agreement (FTA) pact. The next, 14th, round is scheduled in Brussels from October 6 to 10. 

According to officials from the commerce ministry, both sides are aiming to conclude the negotiations and the deal by the end of the year. The EU has listed 102 new Indian fishery establishments for export to EU member countries. 

They also discussed enhanced market access for Indian seafood products especially shrimps, squid, octopus, and cuttle fish. 

Officials also said that India aims to reduce dependency on certain geographies to avoid crucial supply chain disruptions. The government has picked 50 countries and is preparing a country-wise export strategy. This comes amid trade and tariff issues with the US, which is India’s biggest export market. The US imposed 50 per cent tariffs of Indian goods, and the trade deal, which was expected to have been concluded and finalised months ago, is still in the negotiation phase.

The government has identified about 100 products where India has huge imports, officials said. If these imports can be replaced by domestic capacities, then it will be a huge step towards self-reliance.

They said that despite global and trade policy uncertainties, India’s exporters have done extremely well. New GST reforms, PLI reforms will also help us to improve export competitiveness, said the officials.