Both India and the European Union released the text of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on Friday providing details on customs and trade facilitation, rules of origin, intellectual property rights (trademark and copyright), services and digital trade, and sustainable development. The 20-chapter text has also addressed several sticking points in negotiations including sanitary and phytosanitary measures and clarified details on the carbon border adjustment measures (CBAM).
According to the text of the FTA, an annexure on 'model mediation procedures' has been included in the agreement, the conclusion of which was announced on January 27. The pact is likely to be implemented next year. The EU mentioned that tariff schedules will follow at a later stage.
The text brings much clarity on the data protection act. It has been made clear that the right of each side to decide on its own level of protection of personal data and privacy shall remain unaffected. “Each Party may adopt and maintain the safeguards it deems appropriate to ensure the protection of personal data and privacy, including through the adoption and application of rules for the cross-border transfer of personal data,” said the text. The digital trade chapter supports the free flow of data across borders for commercial use, while safeguarding each country’s authority to frame rules on privacy and security. It rules out customs levies on electronic transmissions and limits mandatory source code disclosure to regulatory requirements.
The provisions mandate transparency in anti-dumping and countervailing investigations. Both India and the EU must notify the other before initiating a probe and allow consultations—at least seven days after invitation—prior to launching a countervailing case. Interested parties must be given an opportunity to present their views. Before issuing a final decision, authorities must disclose essential facts in writing and provide detailed reasons in any preliminary findings. “Both India and the EU shall apply no less favourable conditions to the other Party’s goods than those applied to like goods from other third countries as regards any flexibilities granted in the implementation of their carbon border adjustment measures,” said the text of the FTA.
In the services segment, the agreement widens entry opportunities in areas including information technology, banking and finance, telecom, and professional services, while also easing norms for the temporary movement of qualified professionals. The text also addressed challenges of non-tariff measures like sanitary and phytosanitary measures and assured “to protect human, animal or plant life or health in the territory of each Party while facilitating trade between the Parties and to ensure that Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures imposed by each Party do not create - unjustified barriers to trade.”
The two sides reiterated their existing rights and commitments under the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. They agreed that any food safety or animal and plant health measures will be framed and implemented in line with global rules, balancing trade facilitation with the need to safeguard human, animal and plant life within their territories. Such measures, the text underscores, must not be deployed as disguised or arbitrary restrictions on trade.
Regarding CBAM, which has been a point of contention between the two sides for long, the EU committed to support India's greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts, in particular through the mobilisation of financial resources, tools, instruments and related investments. No special concession has been given to India but the EU committed to aid India’s long-term industrial transformation to align with CBAM, with special assistance for medium and small enterprises.