Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist October 2019 | Page 53

INSIDE EUROPE
Is it an
Opportune Time
for India-EU Free
Trade Agreement?
BY DR. ANKITA DUTTA*
Introduction
India-European Union (EU) relations have been on an
upswing in the past few years. The EU is India’s largest
regional trading partner, while India is the EU’s 9th largest
trading partner. India’s bilateral trade with EU in 2017-18
stood at $76.90 billion with India’s exports valued at $30.35
billion and India’s imports from the EU at $46.55 billion.
Over the period April 2000 to June 2017, FDI fl ows from EU
countries totalled $83.7 billion. There are more than 6,000
EU companies currently present in India, providing direct and
indirect employment to over 6 million people. Against this
background, the EU-India Free Trade Agreement is a natural
culmination of robust economic relations. However, the reality
is in stark contrast as with almost 16 rounds of negotiations,
the agreement has not yet been fi nalised. The paper explores
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 10 • October 2019, Noida • 53