No timeline can be given on the conclusion of talks between India and four Nordic countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) for a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), said the Trade Ministers of Switzerland and Norway during a visit to Delhi. However, they still hope differences can be resolved in the next few months, before the election process gets under way in India.
Government officials indicated that though the most recent round of talks between trade negotiators from India and the four countries - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland saw the process “gain momentum”, several issues remain. Briefing journalists about the outcome of talks this week, Commerce Ministry officials also said that discussions on “trade in goods and services, trade and sustainable development, SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary] measures, trade remedies and associated trade facilitation, and rules of origin” are still ongoing.
In particular, the Ministers, who met Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday, said that Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) or patents and copyrights concerns with India were a key “bread and butter” issue for them.
