After the EU, Canada is now pitching for inclusion of environment-related issues in the trade and investment agreement with India. New Delhi has stoutly resisted the move. In a recent interview with FE the Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty said that following the Copenhagen summit for global greenhouse gas reduction strategy, environment and economic concerns could not be separated and hinted that any trade agreement had to include environment related issues as well.
?In all of these issues now one does not separate environmental concerns from economic concerns. They are both relevant. The commitments coming out of Copenhagen make it necessary that countries look at environmental issues and economic issues at the same time,? Flaherty said.
According to a government official India is not going to entertain any attempt of the developed world to club environmental and child labour issues with any trade agreement. ?There are other arenas where such issues can be discussed. Surely a trade agreement ought to just look at trade and nothing else,? he said requesting anonymity.
Ahead of the G-20 meeting in Toronto next month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper are expected to release the joint-study-group (JSG) report between the two countries. ?The JSG would focus on areas of mutual benefit for India and Canada,? a person working on the JSG said.
Former director general of foreign trade and currently the director at India Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) KT Chacko said that India has constantly resisted attempts made by the developed world to impose environment related clauses in a trade agreement. ?India would do what is in the country?s interest if the developed world continues to mount pressure,? he said.
Chacko added that till the time there was no clear framework under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on such issues India would continue to resist. ?There is a tendency to push environment goods as a part of market access schemes. But the issue is these goods can be used for a variety of other purposes,? he said. Environment goods refer to those commodities that reduce carbon emissions like newer technologies and engineering products.
Currently India is locking horns with EU on environment and child labour related issues. The EU has been insisting that these form a part of the free trade agreement. Earlier this month EU trade ambassador Danielle Smadja said that these issues were being discussed by officials from both sides. ?This issue of trade continues to be discussed by chief negotiators and each time it comes up, the EU further explains our position?all I can say is that India took note of our explanation; If we are serious about an agreement, we have to be serious about all the sensitivities,? she had said.
Khullar takes stock of EU trade agreement
Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar met the director general of trade for European Commission David O?Sullivan to take stock of the progress of the ongoing talks of the India-EU Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement. Both sides agreed to fast-track the negotiations to reach an agreement within the next few months. It was also agreed that a ministerial level stock taking could take place at a suitable time in the future. Last week in a media interaction Khullar had said that the government would look to take up the issue of drug seizures by European custom authorities with the director general of EU.