India is high on the UK’s list of potential trading partners once it leaves the EU in 2019, with estimates suggesting Britain can increase exports to its Commonwealth partner by more than £2billion per year simply by cutting EU red tape.
And report by the Commonwealth nation, blasting the “slow pace” of EU talks, said Brexit will present a significant “opportunity”.
Nearly a year after Theresa May visited India to lay the foundations for future business deals, Brussels has launched an offensive in a desperate bid to muscle in and thrash out an agreement of its own.
A delegation of big hitters is jetting out to New Delhi for the 14th EU-India summit to try restart negotiations this weekend.
The EU is India’s largest export destination and if talks do resume Britain could find itself battling it out with Brussels in another trade contest.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
The big name players at the table are European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini, European Council President Donald Tusk and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The EU-India Business Forum will run alongside the summit giving delegates the chance to review the state of play on trade and investment and discuss the next steps towards relaunching negotiations for a free trade agreement.
Talks on an EU-India broad-based trade and investment deal – which seeks to improve market access for goods by eliminating tariff lines – began in 2007 but have stalled since 2013.
Key sticking points include European demands India removes tariffs on car and car parts, wine and spirits as well as differences over intellectual property rights.
But the EU negotiating party will point to the launch of an investment facilitation mechanism for EU investors in India and the strong engagement of the European Investment Bank in India as positive steps forward.
An EU spokesman said the summit should further advanced co-operation in research and innovation, by facilitating research opportunities and increasing research collaboration between the EU and India.
But India could play the EU off with Britain in a bid to accelerate a trade deal which has become stagnant.
A report by Rashmi Banga published in April said: “Given the slow pace of negotiations over a trade deal with the EU, Brexit provides a fresh opportunity to India to strengthen its economic relationship with the UK through an India–UK trade and investment agreement.”