Negotiation on the proposed India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA), stalled for over two years, is likely to re-start in August this year.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already discussed the matter with the EU Trade Commissioner and both sides are interested in getting back to the table soon, Commerce Secretary Rajiv Kher said at a press interaction on Monday. “The EU chief negotiator would be available in August. That is when the talks are likely to re-start,” Kher said.

Talks on the free trade pact, officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) got stuck in 2013, as the EU wanted commitments in insurance, legal and retail sectors as well as government procurement while looking for even steeper cuts in import duties for cars.

“An agreement with the EU is very much feasible as long as it is realistic. For instance, we cannot give commitments in sectors such as multi-brand retail or legal, where we do not have domestic legislation,” he said.

The 28-member EU is the largest regional export destination for India with the country shipping goods worth $ 51.63 billion to the bloc in 2013-14 accounting for over 16 per cent of its total exports.

Kher said that if India wanted to get out of the negative growth phase in exports, it has to focus on FTAs.

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