New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) As India advances its trade negotiations and economic engagement with Europe, industry leaders and policymakers on Friday stressed the need for stronger standards infrastructure, digital compliance systems and institutional mechanisms to help Indian businesses effectively access European markets and address non-tariff barriers.

The observations were made during a conference on “Next-Gen Trade Pacts: Leveraging India’s Partnership with Europe under FTAs”, organised by the Centre for Trade and Investment Law at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry in the national capital.

Opening the conference, FICCI Secretary General Anant Swarup highlighted the growing importance of India’s trade ties with European economies amid ongoing free trade agreement negotiations and evolving global trade frameworks.

Chair of the FICCI Foreign Trade and Trade Facilitation Committee and Managing Director of Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., Harish Ahuja, said India must strengthen its standards infrastructure, testing and certification capabilities and digital compliance tools to remain competitive in European markets.

He also underlined the need for stronger institutional mechanisms to deal with non-tariff barriers that increasingly influence global trade.

Delivering the context-setting address, Dr. James J. Nedumpara said next-generation trade agreements go beyond tariff reductions and are shaping the future framework of international trade through wider economic and regulatory cooperation.

In the keynote address, Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce and Industry Darpan Jain described the conclusion of negotiations for the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement as a major milestone in India’s economic diplomacy.

He said the agreement would provide preferential tariff treatment to 99.5 per cent of Indian exports and help deepen India’s integration into European value chains.

According to him, the pact is also expected to improve market access across goods and services sectors while reducing non-tariff trade barriers.

Director General of FICCI Jyoti Vij, in her concluding remarks during the inaugural session, stressed the importance of industry awareness and enterprise preparedness to ensure effective utilisation of trade agreements.

–IANS

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