FTA: EU to launch formal dialogue with India soon

New Delhi: European Union Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has said the EU will formally launch negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement with India "very soon".

He has held a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the WEF meet in Geneva.

"Excellent meeting with Minister Goyal @PiyushGoyal from India. Will formally launch Free Trade Agreement negotiations very soon, according to a tweet by Dombrovskis.

India's Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam in April had said that India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) will restart negotiations for their long-pending free trade agreement in June.

The proposed agreement, officially dubbed as Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) between India and the EU has been stalled since May 2013 due to several issues.

BTIA is a proposed comprehensive free trade agreement being negotiated by the two sides.

India's merchandise exports to EU member countries stood at about $65 billion in 2021-22, while imports aggregated to $51.4 billion.