India, EU accelerates FTA talks, eye tariff cuts on textiles and alcohol

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Economy India, EU discusses the relief of textile duty in exchange for whiskey concessions under FTA FTA negotiations with Oman and the UK are also in the final stages. Image: (Pixabay) Summary The 10th round of India-EU trade negotiations aims to reduce rates on textiles and alcoholic beverages, with both sides expected to improve the export opportunities and market access by 2025. trade union (e-trade union) and the European trade union) accelerator on their long-in-the-work-free trade agreement (FTA). In the latest round talks between the two parties in Brussels on March 10-14, an attempt to reduce duties on the performing of textile from India and emerged premium alcoholic drinks of the EU as an important negotiating maneuver, three people who are aware of the matter, on the condition of anonymity. Currently, India places up to 150% duty on alcoholic beverages from the EU, while the 27 countries EU charges a duty of up to 14% on Indian textiles. India’s textile medium -royalty, Bangladesh, has comparative free access to the European market, with no import tax. “The concessions about spirits are one of several other important issues on the negotiating table,” the first person mentioned above. “India is investigating the option to lower rates on alcoholic drinks from the EU, while protecting the interests of domestic manufacturers.” Read also | Trump burns rates, but India and the UK speak again in trade. This person added that the discussions have progressed well, and “we are moving closer to finalizing a mutually beneficial trade agreement that will increase exports for both sides”. The new tariff structure for alcohol considered in the FTA under negotiation is expected to differ significantly from the model adopted in the India Australian trade treaty. Unlike the Australian agreement, where the tariff cut on alcoholic drinks is linked to price ties and gradually reduced over a ten -year period, the structure is expected to be more uniform in the case of the EU and not on the price segmentation. “Negotiators are working on a separate formula, possibly a flat -phased reduction or a threshold -based model adapted to the EU’s product profile,” the third person quoted above, adding that the EU is expected to eliminate rates on Indian textile products. Inquiries sent by e -mail to the Ministry of Trade by e -mail remained unanswered until purple time. Olof Gill, spokesperson for the EU, said in response to ‘Ne -mail -inquiry that the 10th round of talks was part of a broader attempt to conclude the FTA negotiations by the end of 2025, as agreed between EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Von der Leyen’s visit to India on February 28 on February 28. Read it | India -k FTA talks are likely to resume in April to resolve pending issues. “For many of the key areas, the EU and India have different approaches, objectives and legal and administrative traditions; in some cases it translates to different levels of ambition,” Gill said. “Negotiators focus mainly on the core issues of a future agreement with the aim of identifying contours of an economically significant market access package. During this round, both parties aimed to achieve greater clarity on their respective positions in the negotiation areas.” The 10th round of talks focused on key trading areas, including goods, services, investment and government purchases. Along with the trade transaction, an investment protection treaty and an agreement on geographical indications (GIS) are also held. Both sides agreed to speed up the process, and the 11th round of talks will take place in New Delhi from May 12 to 16. The two parties resumed talks in June 2022 after a gap of over eight years. Negotiations stopped in 2013 because of differences on how much to open their markets. Industrial reactions “The signing of an FTA between India and the EU has the potential to be a game changer for India’s textile and clinging sector,” says Prabhu Dhamodharan, convener of the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF). “Currently, India only has a 5% share in the EU clothing market, compared to China’s 28% and the 21% of Bangladesh. With the FTA in place, our market share could possibly double within two years, thanks to the competitive advantage accessed by zero service.” Read also | India-UK FTA talks that are likely to resume next month, new labor government can make the migration, mobility heads “Bangladesh’s rapid growth in the EU, largely powered by its duty-free advantage. 600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in the apparent jobs in the clothing sector. “The EU imports $ 92 billion worth of clothing annually, making it an even bigger market than the US,” Dhamodharan said. Meanwhile, Anant S. Iyer, director -general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Enterprises (CIABC), said the Indian alcoholic beverage industry is open to a reduction in import duty, but it must be phased over time. He said the CIABC had already requested the government to cut the customs duties on the spirits of 150% to 50% over a ten -year period. However, Iyer warned that strict origin rules in the India EU-EU-FTA are needed, as relaxed rules can allow products from non-EU countries to be led by EU countries to India to take advantage of service cuts. Read also | India-EU-free trade negotiations to include booking on the carbon tax of Europe. “We recommend that only products made in the EU should qualify for concessions under the FTA,” Iyer said. “It will prevent unfair trading practices and ensure a level playing field for Indian producers.” The export of India-EU Trade India’s textiles to Europe has had a slight decline over the past three years. In FY22, exports stood at $ 10.83 billion, which fell slightly to $ 10.48 billion in FY23 and further dropped to $ 9.66 billion in FY24, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade. The most important textile products sent to European markets are ready-made garments in all textile categories, cotton yarn, materials and made-up products, handloma products, man-made fiber-based textiles, crafts that include handmade carpets, carpets and jute-based manufactured goods, including carpet. India has reduced import duty on US bourbon whiskey from 150% to 100%, in a move seen as a gesture to place the US to the meeting between the heads of both countries in February. In contrast, in March, the US administration threatened to impose a 200% tariff on European alcoholic beverages in response to EU’s decision to charge a 50% tariff on US spirits. However, in response to the US threat, the EU revised its list of retaliation tariffs and removed US bourbon and wine to avoid further escalation and protect its own alcohol exports. And read | The EU team is on their way to India for FTA talks, focus on services, investments capture all business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Free Trading Agreement Mint Specials