EU, India set up new Trade and Technology Council

The European Union (EU) and India yesterday set up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC) at a meeting in Brussels. The TTC will deepen strategic engagement on trade and technology and will offer the political steer and the necessary structure to coordinate approaches and advance technical work. Both sides agreed to work on areas like connectivity, green technologies and resilient supply chains.

The decision follows the announcement by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25 last year in New Delhi.

The EU and India yesterday set up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Brussels. The TTC will deepen strategic engagement on trade and technology and will offer the political steer and the structure to coordinate approaches and advance technical work. Both sides agreed to work on areas like connectivity, green technologies and resilient supply chains.

The TTC will be co-chaired on the EU side by executive vice presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis, and on the Indian side by external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, and electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, an official release from the EU said.

Ministerial meetings of the TTC will rely on the preparatory work of three working groups, which will meet within two weeks to organise their work:

The group on strategic technologies, digital governance and digital connectivity will work on areas like digital connectivity, artificial intelligence, 5G/6G, high performance and quantum computing, semiconductors, cloud systems, cybersecurity, digital skills and digital platforms.

The group on green and clean energy technologies will focus on green technologies, including investment and standards, with emphasis on research and innovation.

Areas to be explored could be clean energy, circular economy, waste management, plastic and litter in the ocean. It will also foster cooperation between EU and Indian incubators, small and medium enterprises and start-ups.

The third group on trade, investment and resilient value chains will work on the resilience of supply chains and access to critical components, energy and raw materials.

It will also work to resolve identified trade barriers and global trade challenges by promoting cooperation in multilateral fora. It will work towards promotion of international standards and cooperation on addressing global geopolitical challenges.

The three strands of bilateral negotiations on trade, investment and geographical indications will continue separately from the TTC.

The high-level Trade & Investment Dialogue will remain the principal organ for steering these negotiations. In addition, the EU-India High-level Digital Investment Forum (DIF) may be organised on the margins of the first TTC ministerial meeting.

Ministerial meetings of the TTC will take place at least once a year, with the venue alternating between the EU and India.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)