India's expanding trade partnership with Europe needs stronger standards ecosystem: FICCI leaders
New Delhi, May 22
As India advances its trade negotiations and economic engagement with Europe, industry leaders and policymakers on Friday stressed the need for stronger standards infrastructure, digital compliance systems and institutional mechanisms to help Indian businesses effectively access European markets and address non-tariff barriers.
The observations were made during a conference on "Next-Gen Trade Pacts: Leveraging India's Partnership with Europe under FTAs", organised by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry in the national capital.
Opening the conference, FICCI Secretary General Anant Swarup highlighted the growing importance of India's trade ties with European economies amid ongoing free trade agreement negotiations and evolving global trade frameworks.
Chair of the FICCI Foreign Trade and Trade Facilitation Committee and Managing Director of Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., Harish Ahuja, said India must strengthen its standards infrastructure, testing and certification capabilities and digital compliance tools to remain competitive in European markets.
He also underlined the need for stronger institutional mechanisms to deal with non-tariff barriers that increasingly influence global trade.
Delivering the context-setting address, Dr. James J. Nedumpara said next-generation trade agreements go beyond tariff reductions and are shaping the future framework of international trade through wider economic and regulatory cooperation.
In the keynote address, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce and Industry Darpan Jain described the conclusion of negotiations for the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement as a major milestone in India's economic diplomacy.
He said the agreement would provide preferential tariff treatment to 99.5 per cent of Indian exports and help deepen India's integration into European value chains.
According to him, the pact is also expected to improve market access across goods and services sectors while reducing non-tariff trade barriers.
Director General of FICCI Jyoti Vij, in her concluding remarks during the inaugural session, stressed the importance of industry awareness and enterprise preparedness to ensure effective utilisation of trade agreements.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Finally something concrete! For years we've been talking about FTAs but the real challenge is always the non-tariff barriers. Our textile industry has suffered because of EU's environmental standards that we weren't prepared for. This conference is a step in the right direction.
As someone who works in trade compliance, I think the focus on digital compliance systems is absolutely critical. The EU is moving toward mandatory digital product passports and carbon border adjustments. India needs to invest in these systems now, not wait until the FTA is signed.
99.5% of exports getting preferential treatment sounds impressive, but what about the 0.5%? Usually that's the sensitive agricultural products where our farmers need protection. Hope our negotiators didn't give away too much. Europe is very clever in these deals.
FICCI should have involved more small-scale exporters in this discussion. The big players like Shahi Exports have their own compliance teams. It's the small textile units in Tirupur and Ludhiana that need hand-holding to meet EU standards. Without them, the FTA benefits won't reach the grassroots.
Interesting perspective from Dr. Nedumpara about next-gen trade agreements going beyond tariffs. The EU is pushing for labor standards, environmental clauses, and data flow rules. India needs to be careful not to sign up for commitments that could limit our policy space for domestic manufacturing growth.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.