‘End-of-year deadline for India-EU FTA is unrealistic’
New Delhi: An end of year deadline for a free trade deal between India and the European Union is unrealistic, the 27-nation grouping’s Ambassador to India, Hervé Delphin, said in an interview. Stressing the need for a level playing field for European businesses, Delphin cited concerns about India’s regulatory uncertainty as a potential dampener on EU investments. Edited excerpts: I don’t think that, to my knowledge, India has had such a large-scale FTA with any other partner.
You cannot compare us with the UAE or Australia or even the UK. It (EU) is the biggest market in the world and this means a degree of complexity in terms of negotiation. Access to the EU market is a very high price for anyone and we don’t give it like this.
It’s part of a negotiation based on reciprocal arrangements and fair and transparent mechanisms that will create a level playing field. So that is the condition of having an FTA. So far, the negotiation has been going on at quite a sustained pace.
There is clearly a political momentum and backing behind it. For us, we are fully committed. There may be a senior-level official meeting again in November.
I see business communities on both sides very eager to have the FTA. Our trade has tripled in the last few years and India is also rising as an investor in Europe. It’s true that for Europe’s investors or companies, entering the India market is quite a high- price market.
When you are an SME or even a bigger size company entering the Indian market, people will think twice if it’s worth the investment. I guess you’ve heard and I’ve heard European companies expressing concerns about quality control orders, market access, regulatory conditions or quantitative restrictive measures. What I can only say
. Read more on livemint.com
