India and the European Union (EU) have appointed chief negotiators marking the resumption of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA), Indian government sources said on Tuesday, March 29.
The sources said that preliminary negotiations will target at least an “early harvest” or interim trade agreement to be concluded before India goes for national polls in 2024.
India and the EU scrapped previous rounds of FTA talks in 2014 following differences over tariffs and market access, but made a decision in 2021 to resume fresh talks.
Both sides face stiff challenges in reconciling differences, with the EU taking a stand that labour standards and environmental issues needed to be part of any trade agreement, while India maintains that talks should be held only on current existing tariff structures.
