| Date: |
30-01-2016 |
| Subject: |
India, EU need to trash out remaining issues of FTA: Sweden |
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NEW DELHI: Terming the proposed free trade agreement between India and EU as a "classical win win" for the two sides, Sweden today said negotiators need to sit down and "trash out" remaining issues of the trade pact.
Ambassador of Sweden to India Harald Sandberg said although there are few outstanding issues which needs to be addressed, both India and the European Union (EU) have covered lot of areas of the agreement.
"I know both the sides are willing to talk to each other and this is a very important issue between the EU and India. We as a EU member are very supportive of this process finally creating a positive result which will be mutually beneficial. This is a classical win win," he told reporters here.
"Negotiators have to sit down and trash out the remaining issues," he added.
India and the EU started talks on free trade agreement in 2007 and till 2013, 16 rounds of negotiations were held. But talks were stalled after that as the two regions failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector.
On his expectation about the conclusion of the negotiations, he said: "It is a billion dollar question" but Sweden wants to see the conclusion "as soon as possible".
He said both the sides should work on the outstanding issues and "crunch" those out and reach a result on those.
On the demand of India for a liberalised visa regime in the EU, Sandberg said as far as Sweden is concerned, it has the most liberal migration policy for professionals.
"I know this is an issue," he added.
Chief negotiators of India and EU met on January 18 here and took stock of contentious issues, including duty cut on automobiles and movement of professionals, that have held up talks on the proposed free trade agreement.
The purpose of the meeting was to assess where both sides stand and how India and the EU should go forward with the proposed pact, officially dubbed as Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement.
Negotiators were expected to meet in August last year, but talks were deferred by India, expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products, clinically tested by GVK Biosciences.
In May 2013, India and the 28-nation bloc failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector.
The other issues include easy movement of professionals and data security status demand from India. Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, EU wants tax reduction in wines and spirits and dairy products and a strong intellectual property regime.
The free trade pact is aimed at reducing or significantly eliminating tariffs on goods, facilitating trade in services and boosting investments between the two sides.
The two-way commerce in goods between India and the EU was USD 98.5 billion in 2014-15.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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