NEW DELHI: The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union will be a game changer for India-Ireland bilateral trade, with talks likely to resume soon, said Robert Troy, minister of state for trade promotion, Ireland, in an interview to Mint.
Troy said sustainability from the perspective of climate change will underpin any negotiations with the EU. He added that pharmaceuticals and whiskeys will be key areas for Ireland as far as market access under the EU FTA is concerned.
Edited excerpts of the interview:
Did you have discussions on the India-EU FTA so far?
That really is going to be a game changer in terms of the capacity of trade increase between the two countries. And as you know, trade talks were stalled over the last number of years but thankfully, they are going to recommence. Critical to any new trade agreement is to ensure that trade policy is underpinned with sustainable development. I think we all acknowledge sustainability from a climate perspective. We have a responsibility in that area, and that will underpin any negotiations from a European perspective.
What are the key areas of interest for Ireland under the proposed India-EU FTA?
One of our big areas is in terms of export of pharmaceuticals, export of med-tech, and we've seen because of our concentration in that area, we were the one of the only EU countries to see positive GDP growth during the pandemic. And I think there's an opportunity there obviously, with the API specialization from an Indian perspective that would benefit Ireland. Obviously, Ireland is renowned for quality food and the production of whiskey. We see an opportunity there, as well.
With the worsening Russia,-Ukraine conflict, do you see demand slowing down in EU economies and in Ireland in particular?
Obviously, there's going to be a consequence. Firstly, to say that we condemn the war from an Irish perspective, it's unjustified and we would like to see an early resolution. We have been a part of the EU and a broader global response to this has been important, very tough financial sanctions on Russia. And there is going to have consequences in relation to the supply chain of energy.
As you know, Russia is a significant supplier of energy to the European market at the price of oil to the price of the gas the price of petrol and diesel at our pumps has risen and obviously, that has knock-on effects, particularly for an island that depends on trade and on delivery of lorries to get our products in and out. There's also a difficulty in relation to wheat and food supply.
Ukraine was the bread-basket of Europe and we know that they're not going to have any harvest this year. So we're going to see food supplies increase in value and drive up the cost of living that has consequences in relation to inflation.
We introduced an excise reduction on our fuel to help put soaring fuel costs. We introduced a subsidy to all our transport companies to help bring the cost of transport down because we want to keep our supply of the cost of products down as much as possible to try and keep inflation as low as possible.
Regarding the supply of wheat are you also looking at India to fill in that supply gap?
The minister for agriculture who is also has the responsibility for food in Ireland has been engaged at the bloc level to look for alternatives. But it's not just Ireland that depends on Ukraine, the EU as a whole has to look at other supply chains.
But we are also incentivizing our farmers at home. And the one positive is that it's happening at a time of the year when it's not too late for farmers to take corrective action and plant our own land. Because we need it not only to supply our own food chain, but we need to supply the food chain for animals.
What is the primary focus during your India visit?
India and Ireland have seen levels of trade increase over the last decade. In 2021, trade between the two countries reached 5.5 bn euros. It might seem small for a country the size of India but it's quite large from an Irish perspective and we want to build on that trade.
Another big area where we have long ties is in education. Nearly 5,000 students a year choose to study either postgraduate or master's level in Ireland.
Are there MoUs planned with Indian universities during your visit?
We had a very positive discussion with the vice chancellor of Delhi University on Monday. And talks will be ongoing in terms of how we can further deepen our collaboration between Ireland and New Delhi University. But that's not the only educational institution that we have interaction with and those talks will be ongoing.
