“In my meetings with industry and government representatives, I have underlined that the situation in the EU and India are different, the per capita income is different and in future, the opportunities are different. The scale of opportunity that India offers is not available anywhere else. Keeping all this in mind, we need a good transition period, our domestic industry should be given adequate opportunity, we need to protectour farmers and the dairy sector. We need to balance all these interests. This is our responsibility and we (had) kept that in mind during the UAE and Australia. We plan to do the same in other FTAs,” commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said.
Asked if the EU Parliament may have reservations, he said, “We will look at the issue if it arises. But we needto protect our interests. ” The minister said that both Italy and France, which he visited, have supported the talks.
During the official level negotiations, the government has made it clear that it was difficult for India to follow the approach that EU has taken in some of the FTAs it has signed recently, given that industry is not ready for it. In fact, some of the enforcement clauses that are part of the EU-New Zealand agreement are seen to be completely unacceptable.
Negotiators have flagged difficulty in accepting the IPR regime, such as those related to patents, that the EU has been seeking with India not keen on taking TRIPS Plus type of obligation, which dilutes its stand on protecting interests of its industry and, more importantly, consumers.
Similarly, the sustainability chapters that have been proposed may be tough for Indian industry to adopt immediately. “We have told them that our policies are promoting sustainable growth but we need more time to deal with some of the issues. We will need a longer transition time, maybe up to 2050 in some cases,” a source said.
Government sources said that there is recognition of India’s concerns in recent engagements.
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