India-EU

INTERNATIONAL/ ECONOMY

Topic:

• GS-2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests 

India-EU

India’s Export Potential to EU

• India has an untapped export potential of $39.9 billion in the EU and Western Europe. 
• The top products with export potential include apparel, gems and jewellery, chemicals, machinery, automobile, pharmaceuticals and plastic. India benefits from tariff preferences under the EU’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for several of these products. 
• India is among the major beneficiaries of the EU’s GSP, with exports under the GSP valued at nearly $19.4 billion in 2019, accounting for nearly 37% of India’s merchandise exports to the EU.

Concerns

• There are several products where India has export potential in the EU, but these have “graduated” or are at the brink of “graduation” under EU GSP. 
• Product graduation applies when average imports of a product from a beneficiary country exceed 17.5% of EU-GSP imports of the same product from all beneficiary countries over three years. 
• India’s exports of products such as textiles, inorganic and organic chemicals, gems and jewellery, iron, steel and their articles, base metals and automotives are already out of the ambit of EU-GSP benefits.
• There is also a likelihood of losing EU-GSP benefits in other categories such as apparel, rubber, electronic items, sports goods and toys due to product graduation.
• India’s competitors in apparel exports such as Bangladesh would continue to receive tariff benefits in the EU under Everything but Arms Initiative. 
• Another competitor, Vietnam, concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU in 2019.
• India’s negotiation for a Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement is yet to materialise due to lack of concurrence in areas like automotives and dairy and marine products.

Way Ahead

• In light of the declining preferential access and the plausible erosion of competitiveness in the EU market, there is clearly a need to deepen trade and investment ties with the region.
• A thorough assessment of the benefits from FTA for domestic producers is warranted, with due consideration to the impact on sensitive sectors, and possibility of inclusion of safeguards such as sunset clause on concessions for some items.
• There should also be provisions for aspects such as investment and non-tariff measures (NTMs).
• India also needs to negotiate on investment-related aspects with the EU to enhance bilateral investments and foster stronger value chains, especially in technology-intensive sectors in which the EU has a comparative advantage.

Conclusion

• Post-Brexit EU finds itself in the midst of a growing need for recalibrating ties with its partner countries. 
• Forging stronger ties with the region through a mutually beneficial agreement could help strengthen Indian manufacturing and revitalise the flailing exports.