EU agrees to set aside 'energy and raw material' talks with India for now: Report

Global events such as covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war have made it essential for economies to secure energy and critical metal supplies

The European Union has agreed to keep the discussions on “energy and raw material” chapter under the proposed free trade deal with India on hold for now, a report by Business Standard said on June 11.

The chapter, which was added by the Union unilaterally, would have made New Delhi commit to non-stop supply of raw materials such as petroleum, chemicals, cotton, iron, steel and other critical metals, BS said.

Both the parties agreed to set aside talks on energy and raw materials for the time being, the European Commission said after the 11th round of negotiations in New Delhi.

Global events such as covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war have made it essential for economies to secure energy and critical metal supplies. The recent export curbs on rare earth magnets by China has also emphasized the need to build diversified supply chains, the newspaper said.

Interestingly, EU is heavily dependent on other countries for most of the raw materials and it has announced plans to reduce its reliance on one country by 2030, the report said.

Early this month, Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal had revealed that the talks with the European trade bloc is progressing at a rapid pace and a deal could be clinched in the next few months.