EU trade commissioner to discuss market access issues

Thursday, 13 March 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Market access issues are expected to figure high in the discussions when visiting European Union (E.U.) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy meets Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday. Lamy arrived here Wednesday on a two-day visit to India to discuss important bilateral and multilateral trade issues in the run-up to the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting at Cancun, Mexico, in September. "Market access for Indian and European exports, including textiles and agriculture, will figure in the talks as part of efforts to boost bilateral trade," the commerce ministry said in statement. Bilateral trade between India and the E.U. is currently around $20 billion annually. While the E.U. is India's largest trading partner as a group, India ranks 20th as E.U.'s global trading partner. "Bilateral trade, therefore, needs to be enhanced by intensifying and broadening the trade basket," the commerce ministry stated. India's exports to the E.U. during April-October 2002-03 amounted to $6.38 billion, indicating a growth of over 12 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2001-02. On the other hand, India's imports from the E.U. during the same period was valued at $7 billion, showing a growth of 22.73 percent over the corresponding period.
Source: IANS
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