EU-INDIA FTA: PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS DETAINED DURING PROTEST

17 March 2009
New Delhi

EU-INDIA FTA: PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS DETAINED DURING PROTEST

New Delhi: As the 6th round of negotiations related to the EU-India Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) got underway here today, the police detained several
representatives of public interest groups during a peaceful protest in
front of the office of the European Commission (EC). Trade bureaucrats from
the EC and Indian Commerce Ministry will deliberate on issues ranging from
services, manufacturing, trade facilitation and government procurement till
19 March.

Public interest groups were demonstrating against the secretive nature of
negotiations on the FTA, which includes contentious issues such as
agriculture, investment, fisheries, intellectual property and government
procurement. Since the trade talks between the European Union and India
were launched in Brussels in 2007, there has been no access to negotiating
texts.

Pradip Dutta of the Delhi Network of Positive People asserted, This FTA
has provisions that will undermine access to treatment, not just in India
but across the developing world. Duttas concerns are not unfounded. India
is well recognised as the leading supplier of generic medicines across the
developing world. Recent seizures at EU ports of such generic drug
consignments are ample evidence of the adverse impacts of stringent
provisions on intellectual property rights that are also likely to feature
in the EU-India FTA. Several other colleagues living with HIV joined Dutta
at the protest.

In response to the protest, the EU Ambassador Daniele Smadja met with three
representatives from the Forum on FTAs, a platform of peoples
organisations that organized the protest. Dharmendra Kumar of India FDI
Watch who met with the Ambassador said, We were disappointed but not
surprised by the Ambassadors statement that all negotiating texts are
secret and will not be made available even to EU Parliamentarians.

With a minimum of 90% tariff coverage, there will be little leeway for the
Government of India to protect Indian agriculture. Speaking to the press,
Yudhvir Singh from the Bharatiya Kisan Union stated It is shocking that EU
subsidies are kept out of the negotiations and this will allow agribusiness
in EU to dump subsidized products such as dairy into the country.

The Forum has submitted a memorandum to Minister Kamal Nath calling for a
halt to the talks and has asked for a meeting with the Indian delegation.
As the FTA negotiations gather speed, concern is spreading across the
country. The Forum on FTAs has written to political parties across the
spectrum to address this issue in their manifestos. This demand has been
met positively showing growing skepticism with the FTA agenda.

People who were part of the protest include representatives from hawkers
associations, networks of positive people and health, agriculture and
labour groups.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• EU-INDIA
• FTA:
• PUBLIC
• INTEREST
• GROUPS
• DETAINED
• DURING
• PROTEST