EU keen on balanced FTA involving India's edge in services, says commerce secretary

Commerce Secretary, Sunil Barthwal

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on December 12 said the European Union (EU) is keen on a balanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that takes into account India's strength in services exports.

"When I was talking to EU with respect to our FTA negotiations, they were telling us that the EU may be more competitive in terms of manufacturing but India is much more competitive in terms of services exports. And they (EU) want to have this balance in the FTA with respect to services and we said yes, we (India) will do so, because we feel that the services sector has a huge potential to grow," he said.

India's services share in total exports stands at 43.8 percent, higher than the global average of 24.7 percent.

"Despite all the conflicts and impediments, services trade has been strong globally. India, if it has to have a growth story, needs to focus on the services value chain," Barthwal said at an event in New Delhi.

Separately, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on December 12 said that both India and EU want a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement.

"The FTA negotiations, after nine rounds of intense engagement, need political directions to arrive at a commercially meaningful deal while understanding the sensitivities of each other," he said in an interaction with a delegation comprising the European Commission, and the ambassadors of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain and Sweden.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, and senior officials.

India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU was $137.41 billion in 2023-24, making it the country's largest trading partner for goods. In addition, the bilateral trade in services, in 2023, between India and the EU was estimated at $51.45 billion.

"The trade agreement with the EU would help India in further expanding and diversifying its exports of goods and services while securing the value chains. India is seeking to forge balanced agreements with major world economies to increase its market share in global trade," Goyal said.