India, EU to coordinate policies concerning semiconductor sector; Trade and Technology Council discusses resilient value chains

Brussels [Belgium], May 17 : India and the European Union have decided to undertake Quantum and High-Performance Computing research and development projects that could address climate change and natural hazards with the two partners also deciding to deepen their common work on resilient value chains.

A joint statement after the first meeting of Trade and Technology Council (TTC) said that India and the EU will coordinate their policies with regard to the strategic semiconductor sector, with the aim of concluding a Memorandum of Understanding by September 2023 and collaborate on enhancing interoperability of their respective digital public infrastructures.

The ministerial meeting was co-chaired by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis on the EU side and on the Indian side by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

They were joined by EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton.

TTC was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen during the latter's visit to India in April 2022. Subsequently, both sides established three working groups under the TTC - Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity; ) Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies; and Working Group on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains.

The TTC is a key forum to deepen the strategic partnership on trade and technology between the two partners.

An EU release said that geostrategic challenges have reinforced the EU and India's common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development based on shared values.

The EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) met in Brussels on May 16.

The release said that the EU and India will work towards bridging the digital skills gap and promoting the exchange on digital talent. Both partners will engage on 5G, telecoms and Internet of Things standardisation. They will enhance the interoperability of their respective digital public infrastructures and promote secure, privacy-preserving solutions to the benefit of developing countries.

It said EU and India have agreed to deepen their common work on resilient value chains, work to resolve bilateral market access issues and exchange information on each other's mechanisms on foreign direct investment screening.

They will also address global and multilateral trade issues, with particular emphasis on the World Trade Organization. The two sides have also agreed to intensify their engagement on carbon border measures.

Work under the TTC will proceed in parallel to the ongoing negotiations for comprehensive and ambitious agreements on trade, investment protection and geographical indications, which seek to maximise our considerable - yet largely untapped - trade and investment potential.

The TTC will help increase EU-India bilateral trade, which is at historical highs, with Euros 120 billion worth of goods traded in 2022. In 2022, Euros 17 billion of digital products and services were traded.

The India-EU joint statement said that rapid changes in the world's geopolitical environment highlight the need for an even deeper strategic partnership between the European Union and India.

"As vibrant democracies, open market economies and pluralistic societies, the European Union and India share fundamental values and have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development in a multi-polar world. Both partners also face a challenging and volatile global political, economic and security landscape," the statement said

"In that context, both sides emphasized the importance of the rules-based international order and full respect for the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disputes," it added.

The statement said EU President Ursula von der Leyen and PM Modi agreed to set up TTC as a key coordination platform to address key trade, trusted technology and security challenges, to promote a human[1]centric approach to the digital transformation, and to deepen their bilateral relationship in these fields.

"The choice of this format reflects the strategic nature both sides attach to their bilateral relationship, the desire to guide their cooperation towards tangible results and the geopolitical significance of their trade and technology links in the context of a more contested and rapidly evolving international environment."

The statement said European Union and India are committed to deepening their partnership and leveraging their respective strengths to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced digital technologies that will benefit both societies and promote global progress in line "with our common values".

The EU-India TTC Working Group 1 on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity defined priority areas and outlined the next steps.

"The EU and India will undertake Quantum and High-Performance Computing research and development projects that could address climate change, natural hazards, bio-informatics, bio-molecular research, and drug development. In addition, the European Union and India will coordinate within the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) and explore bilateral cooperation on trustworthy and responsible Artificial Intelligence, including in research and innovation," the statement said.

"The two sides will coordinate their policies with regards to the strategic semiconductor sector, with the aim of concluding a Memorandum of Understanding by September 2023. The European Union and India will work towards bridging the digital skills gap, explore Mutual Recognition of certifications and make progress on the promotion of skilled professionals and exchange of talent. They will also enhance cooperation on IT and Telecoms Standardisation with a particular focus on promoting interoperable standards," it added.

The statement said European Union and India have agreed to collaborate on enhancing the interoperability of their respective Digital Public Infrastructures and on this basis jointly promote secure, privacy[1]preserving solutions to the benefit of developing countries.

It said there is an opportunity for both sides to work together on areas such as platforms, data governance, and telecoms regulation.

The European Union and India have set ambitious goals of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and 2070, respectively and they have also taken commitments to halt and reverse Biodiversity loss by 2030 and to promote circular economy.

The statement said that Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies will focus on renewable and low carbon hydrogen; batteries for Electrical Vehicles and standards.

Under these focus areas, India and the EU will start with implementing the joint waste water treatment and management projects to facilitate their market uptake; work on waste water to energy and on waste to Hydrogen; undertake gap analysis on how to tackle marine plastic litter/pollution; share knowledge on circularity aspects of batteries and recover raw materials; and develop standards that can ensure interoperability, including for renewable and low carbon hydrogen.

The statement said the Working Group 3 on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains aims to deepen the bilateral cooperation in specific areas of mutual interest.

The statement said that the two sides intend, in the year to come, to focus on four areas: resilient value chains - with the aim to first agree on broad principles for co-operation and as a second step focus on specific supply chains of mutual interest; market access issues - with the aim to jointly resolve identified trade barriers; exchange of information of each side's mechanisms for screening of Foreign Direct Investment with the objective to enhance mutual understanding of both regimes; and multilateral trade issues, with particular emphasis on the World Trade Organization, including the forthcoming Ministerial conference-13 and G20.

The two sides will also intensify their engagement to address the issues that emerge in the implementation of carbon border measures.

The European Union and India underline the importance of advancing across all Working Groups established under the TTC. The co-chairs will meet again in early 2024 in India to take stock of the progress achieved and decide on further actions.

In his remarks to the media after the TTC meeting, Jaishankar said it has been a very strong start.

"There is a context to what we are doing. In this era of volatility and uncertainty, it's important to de-risk the global economy and yet to ensure that there is very responsible growth. So a lot of what we discussed related to resilient and reliable supply chains, to trust and transparency in the digital domain; in the fact that we today, will have to focus on how to get the best out of a global talent pool in a knowledge economy," Jaishankar said.

He referred to the mention of the decade as techade-a decade which is going to be shaped by technology.

"And our effort has been to create the trusted collaboration, so that we ensure that in this era with all its challenges globalization remains strong, that we remain open economies, that we are able to forge ahead in various areas."

Margrethe Vestager said India and EU are deepening their strategic cooperation.

"We took an important step in deepening our strategic cooperation with India on key digital, green and trade issues. Together, we will address challenges with trusted technology and security. A human-centred digital transition is the starting point. And we need to build secure and trusted connectivity and resilient ICT supply chains as part of economic de-risking. We will engage to deliver better services to citizens, notably through digital public infrastructure."

Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis said the EU and India are global pillars of democracy and rules-based economic opportunity.

"We share many values and strategic ambitions. In particular, we both see untapped potential in our trade and economic relations. We can do much more, and much better. So it is in this spirit that we have created the EU-India TTC. We want it to play a key role in unlocking this potential. We are already going full steam ahead with negotiations for bilateral agreements on trade, investment protection and geographical indications."

Piyush Goyal said India and EU are both vibrant democracies, open market economies, pluralistic societies and have a common interest in security, prosperity and sustainable development.

"Clearly, the political guidance we received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was truly encouraging and has set the path for an outstanding engagement," he said.

Josep Borrell called India an "indispensable strategic partner" for the EU.

"India is an indispensable strategic partner for the EU. The Trade and Technology Council will allow the EU and India to tackle strategic challenges at the nexus between trade, technology and security, and to deepen their bilateral cooperation. It should help ensuring the implementation of the political commitments in these key areas."

Borrell also met Jaishankar on the margins of the first EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC). Borrell commended the work of India as current G20 President, and efforts in this capacity to also address the diverse interests of countries outside the G20 platform, in a spirit of global inter-connectedness.

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