India defers FTA talks with EU over GVK ban

India has decided to defer the proposed talks between the chief negotiators on India-EU Broadbased Investment and Trade Agreement (EU-BTIA) for the present.

The decision follows the European Union's decision to ban the sale of 700 pharma products from India in the EU market over alleged irregularities in clinical trials by Hyderabad-based GVK Biosciences.

''The Government of India is disappointed and concerned by the action of EU in imposing legally binding ban on the sale of around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences, Hyderabad'', an official release said

India has engaged various EU regulators on the issue over the past 8 months, it added.

''Pharmaceutical industry is one of the flagship sectors of India, which has developed its reputation through strong research and safety protocols over the years and therefore, Government of India will examine all options in this regard'', the release pointed out.

Most of these banned drugs have already been in the EU market for many years without any adverse pharmaco-vigilance report from any member state, it was pointed out.

India-EU trade talks, launched in June 2007, remain stuck as both sides are not satisfied with each other's offers.

Negotiations restarted after a gap of about two years, and a fresh round of talks were expected to resume on 28 August on the proposed free trade agreement, officially dubbed as Broadbased Investment and Trade Agreement (BTIA).

The two-way trade between the two sides stood at about $99 billion in 2014-15.