The proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union would benefit domestic exporters as EU is one of the biggest traditional markets for the country, TPCI said on Tuesday.
Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) organised a panel discussion on India-EU trade relations, where experts discussed the proposed pact.
"Industry is upbeat with hope and optimism over India - EU ensuing trade pact," it said in a statement, adding that for most Indian products, EU is one of the biggest traditional markets where exporters see a big turnaround post the agreement. Quoting experts, the council said issues like movement of professionals, duty cut on goods such as alcoholic beverages, automobiles and dairy products may see tough negotiations.
Experts stated that the decision to resume talks for the agreement between India and the EU was a positive development as it will benefit both the sides. Arpita Mukherjee, professor at ICRIER, proposed innovative ways of tariff liberalisation and stated that dairy is a complex issue since both the EU and India are large dairy markets with steady rise in production.
"India needs to deeply study EU-Vietnam and EU-MERCOSUR agreements to see what these partners gave to the EU and got in return. They are India's competitors in the EU today, and much better placed there due to their agreements," Mukherjee was quoted as
saying. Rupa Chanda, RBI Chair Professor in Economics, said India retains its unique advantages for trade partners as its large market and human resource base, role in pharma production, manufacturing and emerging startup ecosystem are quite unparalleled.
