India-EU trade pact to have agreement on GIs

Negotiations on the India-EU agreement on trade and investment is likely to begin by March next year.

India's proposed trade agreement with the European Union is the first such pact by the country in which talks will be held on Geographical Indications to enable both sides to protect producers of goods specific to an area.

"The trade and investment pact with EU would be the first such deal to be signed by India that will have an agreement on Geographical Indications," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on the recent visit to Rome.

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Negotiations on the India-EU agreement on trade and investment is likely to begin by March next year and are likely to be completed in the next two years.

Officials in the commerce ministry said a decision has been taken to include Geographical Indications in the India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement as the other side wanted it.

"So far no free trade agreement that India is negotiating with any country economic grouping or country has anything on GIs because they did not want it," they added.

India is presently negotiating trade agreements with seven countries or economic blocks—ASEAN, Bangladesh, Chile, Egypt, South African Customs Union (SACU), Korea and Japan.