INDIA-EU TRADE PACT TALKS IN LAST LEG, SAYS COMMERCE SECRETARY

The negotiations between India and the European Union on the proposed free trade agreement are progressing “very well” and have reached the last leg, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

- TDG NETWORK

The two sides concluded their 14th round of negotiations in Brussels last week, but some Indian officials have stayed back to conclude talks on Rules of Origin (ROO), Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters here.

“We are in the last leg of negotiations. The last leg is the most arduous leg of negotiations because these are the toughest things that are decided at the end. Progress in the last round has been very positive,” he said.

The ‘Rules of Origin’ (ROO) provision prescribes minimal processing that should happen in the FTA (free trade agreement) country so that the final manufactured product may be called originating goods in that country.

“That (ROO) is one area where a lot of work needs to be done. So we have left the team there. It was planned to have the negotiations for two weeks at a stretch to see that we can make substantial progress,” Agrawal said.