Paris: India and the European Union can conclude talks for a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) before the end of this year, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said Sunday.However, he said, there are certain sensitive issues on both sides that have to be resolved."We never had deadlines for an FTA, but looking at the rapid progress that we are making, my sense is that we could do it faster than the year end," Goyal said.Highlighting that the two sides have complementary economies, Goyal said: "There are not too many issues where we have divergence of opinions. In most cases, what is of offensive interest to India does not hurt the EU economy, likewise goods and services that Europe would like to provide to India only support our growth story."The India-EU FTA has 23 chapters. India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was $137.41 billion in fiscal 2024."We are at a very advanced stage and have made significant progress in different areas of our mutual growing relationship," Goyal said. "Having said that, in any trading relationship, there are certain sensitive issues on both sides which is what we have to resolve amicably and in the interest of both the EU and India," Goyal said.In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over eight years. The talks had stalled in 2013 due to differences over the level of opening up of the markets.While India doesn't shy away from any subject for discussions like gender and sustainability in its FTA, it has certain concerns about the EU's practices and regulations such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Deforestation Regulation. "We have certain concerns... likewise they have certain areas which they would like to discuss," he said.Goyal will have a bilateral meeting on Monday with MaroS Šefcovic, EU's commissioner for trade and economic security, interinstitutional relations and transparency.
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