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News article14 April 2023European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency

Trade Between India and the EU Will Create Big Opportunities

International trade

India is quickly becoming a strategically desired trading partner for the European Union (EU), thanks to its neutral stand in the rapidly emerging multi-polar world.

The EU and India have excellent opportunities to work together on a variety of high-tech projects, including the production of machinery, drones, and aircraft, as well as pharmaceutical and IT research. Both India, which is trying to become self-sufficient, and the EU, which is searching for a different manufacturing hub than China, will benefit from this collaboration.

The EU is India’s third largest trade partner whereas India is EU’s tenth largest. It is interesting to note that India had a trade deficit with the EU in 2018-19 that turned into a trade surplus of $13 billion during April-February 2022-23.

The trade negotiations between India and the EU which had stalled since 2013, are progressing toward a "balanced, ambitious, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial" trade agreement. The ambitious target of concluding the negotiations by 2023 sounds fairly difficult, but in order to maintain pace and foster consensus, challenging and contentious issues like investment protection and geographical indications are being discussed separately yet simultaneously. To quickly reach a settlement, negotiators from both sides must be sensitive to each other's ground realities given the differing national interests and complexities connected with a group of 27 countries within the EU. 

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Publication date
14 April 2023
Author
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency