India-EU Trade Negotiations: A new era of collaboration

Trade Promotion Council of India organised a webinar on the topic Indo-EU Trade Negotiations – A new era of collaboration on May 28, 2021. The discussion was organised in light of the recent decision by India and the European Union to resume negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade & investment agreement after a gap of 8 years.

Following panelists were present during the discussion:

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Former Ambassador of India to Jordan, Libya and Malta and President, MIICCIA Chamber of Commerce

Dr Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER

Dr Rupa Chanda, RBI Chair Professor of Economics, IIM Bangalore

Dr Pralok Gupta, Associate Professor (Services and Investment), Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

R V Anuradha, Partner, Clarus Law Associates.

Topics covered during the discussion were as follows:

• Indo-EU trade relations and the current geopolitical context

• Trade complementarities and potential between the two partners

• Issues on tariff and non-tariff barriers

• Services access and opportunities

• Investment issues

• New areas of discussion like carbon emissions, sustainability and startups

The panelists provided useful and practical insights on how industry should view the ongoing talks as well as how policymakers may approach the trade negotiations, considering the variance in aspirations between India and the EU from the deal.