India and EU Affirm Commitment to Work Together on WTO Reforms

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for an Economy that Works for People, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis emphasised on the need for expediting the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations by finding convergence on all issues. This was discussed during the bilateral meeting between the leaders on the sidelines of the first Ministerial meeting of India-European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The meeting was also attended by senior officials from both sides.

During the bilateral discussions the leaders recalled the long-standing partnership between the two sides and underlined the need to work together to deepen the association given their commitment to democracy and rule-based international systems. They emphasised the need for expediting the ongoing FTA negotiations by finding convergence on all issues after due consideration to mutual sensitivities including on market access for balanced and meaningful outcomes that would support the economies and employment on both sides.

Both sides also affirmed their commitment to work together on common priorities for WTO reforms including issues pertaining to dispute resolution mechanism, subsidies on agriculture and fisheries, ecommerce moratorium as well as domestic legislations. Both sides recognised the need to build on their common goals to pursue consensus-based solutions that would support the livelihoods and food security for millions in India as well as in large parts of the developing world. They expressed hope that their joint efforts would enable finding meaningful solutions in the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference.

This meeting was followed by a meeting of the Working Group 3 Stakeholders co-chaired by Mr. Piyush Goyal and Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis. The meeting included stakeholders representing India and the EU. Working Group 3 focuses on Trade, Investment and Resilient Supply Chains. The EU side had representatives from major European industrial bodies including Business Europe, Digital Europe, Food Drinks Europe, Copa-Cogeca, EFPIA and ACEA. The delegation of Indian business leaders attending the meeting in person represented sectors including Chemicals, metals, textiles, digital infrastructure, and steel while representatives of other sectors like agri-food industry, marine/logistics were present in virtual mode.