‘EFTA aims to have similar conditions for access to the Indian market as the EU’

In an interview with Aanchal Magazine, Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Helene Budliger Artieda said though EFTA negotiations run parallel to India’s FTA talks with the European Union (EU), they aim to have similar conditions for access to the Indian market as the EU. Edited excerpts:

How did discussions with India proceed last week? Given that the latest round marks a renewed attempt at negotiations that have been underway for an extended period, what has changed between when the original negotiations commenced almost a decade ago and this new Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement that is being pursued currently?

It was very important to meet at a high level to take stock of where we are and on the way forward. Both sides share a common wish to conclude these negotiations finally. We always talked about a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement. That part is not new. But, we have had a few years where our discussions have stalled, and we have now jointly decided to give the talks new impetus. For this, the meeting was beneficial, although some work remains. It will be important that experts on both sides sit together and make progress in the negotiations so that, hopefully soon, we can conclude a mutually beneficial agreement.

At what stage are these negotiations, and what are the specific ways being explored to advance the talks?

In many areas, we are quite far advanced. But some key areas will need further in-depth discussions, namely market access issues for goods and services, intellectual property rights, rules of origin, trade, and sustainable development. All sides involved feel that an agreement must be balanced and fair and offer opportunities for India and EFTA members.

The joint communiqué, released after the meeting of representatives from India and the EFTA, talked about efforts being made to resolve all outstanding issues. What are the outstanding issues, and has progress been made on any of them?

As I mentioned, some key areas will need further in-depth discussions. Now it is crucial to make quick progress. Experts must sit down together to solve these issues. It will be important that the political level remains closely engaged.

Are the efforts focussed on clinching a full-fledged EPA, or would an early harvest deal that India and Australia have signed be an option here too?

Our preference is clearly to have a comprehensive agreement.

Given that besides the EFTA pact, the Indian side is also negotiating an FTA with the EU, are there any specific overlaps between the two deals that are possible/being explored?

These are two separate negotiations, although they are pursued in parallel. However, in many areas, we have similar interests and aim at a similar level of ambition. Companies from the EU are among the most important competitors of companies from the EFTA states. It is, therefore, important for us to have similar conditions for access to the Indian market as the EU.

India’s exports to EFTA countries during April-February FY23 were under $2 billion, while imports were around $15 billion. Given that the trade gap has been consistently in favour of the EFTA grouping, are there specific concessions on services or other sectors that you are willing to discuss to address the balance of trade issue, which seems to be an important point from New Delhi’s perspective?

We are ready to discuss all issues that India brings to the table. On trade in goods, the goal is to have meaningful market access commitments on both sides based on interest. A large chunk of imports into India consists of gold. Without that, India would have a trade surplus. Another area still under discussion is trade-in services – also there, the goal is to grant beneficial treatment in areas of key interest to the negotiating partners.

We, however, also need to respect the sensitivities that the parties have. This applies to the whole agreement.

For the talks with EFTA, India had earlier been reluctant about including gender equality and women’s issues in the discussions but now seems to have proposed including them. How much precedence should these topics take in trade pact negotiations?

Trade policy is constantly evolving, and new issues are gaining importance.Trade and sustainable development is one of the issues that were new at some point, and many raised the question of why this should be included in a trade agreement. Nowadays, it is not conceivable that a comprehensive and modern trade agreement is concluded without strong provisions in this area. Gender policy is among the new issues on the trade agenda, also in the World Trade Organization. And it is increasingly being included in FTAs worldwide. We welcome India’s proposal to include a chapter on gender equality and women’s issues.