Even as India and the European Union are yet to finalise a date for re-launching their Free Trade Agreement negotiations stalled since 2013, both sides are not considering a scaled-down version of the pact with a view to somehow expedite the conclusion of the talks by lowering ambition, an EU official said. The negotiations on the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement, had begun in 2007 in order to ensure greater access to “each other’s markets for goods, services and to public procurement contracts”, and establish “the framework for investment, including investment protection”. At a round table organised by The Hindu BusinessLine and Germany’s Bertelsmann Stiftung, Marika Jakas, Counsellor and Head of Trade and Economic Affairs, Delegation of the EU to India, said, “Our goal is to have a broad...comprehensive FTA. An early harvest scheme [to identify a limited number of areas pending the conclusion of FTA talks] is not... being considered.”

Source: The Hindu October 26, 2017 04:30 UTC