European manufacturers complain that the EU Commission has made some major concessions on market access, not matched by the Indians. Apparently, significant import duties will remain on European cars entering India. Plus, there will remain potentially costly non tariff barriers, like independent Indian certification of components such as horns and wheels.
This is, to be honest, little surprise. We’ve been concerned about how EU FTA’s are negotiated for some time. This is not the first time the Commission may have missed a trick when it comes to pushing for deals which genuinely open new markets in third countries. The problem of non-tariff barriers is particularly sensitive in many sectors, and needs urgent and detailed attention.
We believe the Commission—and EU Governments—need to keep closer to business in negotiating these Agreements, in order to get a proper sense of business’s concerns (and where possible “red-lines” lie).
Obviously in such wide ranging agreements there will be demands for some give and take, for trade offs in one sector to match gains in another. But these should only be part of the very endgame. And they should only be entered into in full transparency, including a full impact study of the benefits and costs.
Absent of such an approach the EU risks agreeing a string of bilateral deals that deliver little for business.
