The India-EU TTC was set up in April 2022 to address challenges in trade, technology, and security.
India and the European Union on Friday held the second ministerial meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and emphasized on fostering prosperity through closer trade and investment ties between the two sides. They also reviewed work being done on issues related to trade, green energy, digitalization and explored new opportunities in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and 6G telecommunications.
 
The India-EU TTC was set up in April 2022 to address challenges at the confluence of trade, trusted technology, and security. The first meeting of the India-EU TTC was held in Brussels on 16 May 2023.
 
The TTC Ministerial Meeting provided political guidance for the way forward. Subsequently on November 24, 2023, a stock-taking meeting in virtual mode reviewed the progress made by the three TTC working groups.
 
“The TTC reflects a shared acknowledgement between the EU and India of the increasingly critical links between trade and technology, the potential of cooperation on these issues to enhance the economies of both partners, and the need to work together on the related security challenges. Both sides note the potential of their partnership to increase resilience, strengthen connectivity and drive forward the development of green and clean technologies.” Joint Statement issued after the second meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council, said.
 
The meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw. Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maros Šefčovič and Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva co-chaired on the EU side.
 
During the meeting two sides agreed on the importance of developing value chains that are transparent, diversified, secure, and sustainable. The focus areas include Agri-food, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and Clean Technologies, with both sides pledging to promote collaborative efforts aimed at addressing global challenges and ensuring long-term economic stability.
 
In the field of agriculture, both sides agreed to work together on food security, climate-resilient practices, crop diversification and infrastructure improvements. “In agriculture, India and the EU intend to collaborate on contingency planning for food security and welcome common efforts on shared research and innovations needs regarding climate-resilient practices, crop diversification and infrastructure improvements as promoted for cooperation through the G20 framework,” the Joint Statement maintained.
 
In the pharmaceutical sector, both sides agreed to enhance transparency and security in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) supply chains by mapping vulnerabilities, promoting sustainable manufacturing, and establishing early warning systems to prevent disruptions.
 
Both sides, during the meeting admitted that clean technology cooperation centers on strengthening supply chains for solar energy, offshore wind, and clean hydrogen by exchanging information on sectoral capabilities and investment incentives and Research, Development and Innovation priorities.
 
In this regard, they also discussed approaches to minimize trade barriers and exploring possible synergies of the supply chains. They agreed to foster investment, exchange best practices, and mitigate risks through regular dialogues, research collaborations, and business-to-business engagements, ensuring supply chain resilience and sustainable economic growth.
 
The EU welcomed India's approval for the marketing of several plant products, while India appreciated the EU's listing of Indian aquaculture establishments. Both sides are committed to addressing outstanding issues through continued engagement under the TTC framework.
 
On Foreign Direct Investment, both sides agreed for best practices in the screening of Foreign Direct Investments, which is an area of growing importance to foster economic security.
 
India and the EU reaffirmed their strong support for a multilateral trading system, particularly the World Trade Organization (WTO). They emphasized the need for WTO reforms to address global challenges more effectively, with a focus on ensuring a functional dispute settlement system. Both sides agreed to enhance their dialogue to secure concrete outcomes at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14).
 
Both sides held in-depth discussions on trade and decarbonization through several bilateral channels and have engaged jointly with stakeholders, especially on the implementation of the EU’s carbon border mechanism (CBAM). Both sides discussed the challenges arising out of CBAM implementation, in particular for the small and medium enterprises and agreed to continue addressing them.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to expanding and deepening their engagement under the TTC and to working together to fulfil the goals laid out in this successful second meeting of the TTC. They agreed to meet again for the third meeting of TTC within one year from now.