India, EU ‘very close’ on FTA: Commerce Secy

New Delhi: India and the EU are “very close” to concluding negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), with discussions underway to resolve remaining issues so that the deal is ready for announcement during the visit of top leadership later this month, a top official said on Thursday. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrwal said sensitive agriculture issues have been kept out of the prospective India-EU trade pact.

“I am happy to report that we are very close now. We have closed 20 out of 24 chapters completely. There are few issues on which negotiations are on. We are virtually engaged and we are trying to see if can we meet the timeline before our leaders meet,” he told reporters here.

The issues which need resolution include the EU’s carbon tax. President of the European Council Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will be on a state visit to India from January 25-27. They are chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations.

During the visit, the leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27. The announcement of the conclusion of negotiations for the agreement could be made during the summit and signing could happen at a later agreed date.

“That will be a good occasion (to announce the conclusion of talks). We are making the right endeavour,” Agrawal said. To give an impetus to negotiations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Brussels for a meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on January 8-9. Prior to his visit, high-level discussions between Agrawal and Weyand were held on January 6-7 on the trade deal.