NEW DELHI: The European Union (EU) has sought easier certification process under India’s Quality Control Orders (QCOs) during negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA).
The issue of QCOs was discussed in depth for the first time during the 11th round of negotiations here last month. While no text-based discussions were held, the Indian side clarified on some procedural aspects and some areas where improvement could be considered, officials said.
To ease the process of certification under QCOs, online application and accreditation of EU Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) could be considered by India.
Since the introduction of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act in 2017, more than 187 QCOs covering 769 products have been notified for compulsory certification of BIS by various regulators and ministries. The products covered by the QCOs must have BIS certification if they have to be sold in India. It applies equally to domestic producers and importers. Apart from the products, the manufacturing facilities also have to undergo certification.
In the 11th round of talks, five chapters out of the 23 chapters or policy areas were concluded. These included chapters on transparency, good regulatory practices, customs and trade facilitation and intellectual property rights, as well as mutual administrative assistance provisions. Except for one pending issue, agreement on the text of dispute settlement chapter was reached. On the intellectual property rights, detailed discussions during the round focused on general provisions, copyright, protection of undisclosed information, enforcement of intellectual property rights, including border measures and cooperation.
As both sides chase a 2025-end deadline to conclude the FTA negotiations, the next round of talks are expected to take place in Brussels in July. In between, both sides are also engaged intensively virtually and in person on a large range of topics. The engagement on the political level has also picked up substantially.
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has held three meetings with European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic in the past 40 days. He has also been interacting with trade ministers of key EU member countries in the past few weeks.
India and the EU have been negotiating the FTA since 2022. An FTA with the UK was concluded last month and a similar pact with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was signed last year. With the EU trade deal India would have secured preferential access to its exports to the whole of Europe.
Source: The Financial Express
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