The India-Meeting on BTIA Talks: Recent Developments
✓On 15 November 2017, senior officials of India and European Union (EU) held discussions on the long-stalled free trade pact and expressed willingness to address issues in a time-bound manner.
✓The negotiations for the pact have been held up since May 2013 as both the sides are yet to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues such as:
o intellectual property rights,
o duty cut in automobile and spirits, and
o liberal visa regime.
✓The two sides have to iron out differences related to movement of professionals. A liberal visa regime is key for India in this context.
✓The EU, besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, wants tax reduction in wines, spirits and dairy products, and a strong intellectual property regime.
