New Delhi: The next round of India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations is likely to be held in the first quarter of next year even as the two sides made limited progress on issues such as rules of origin and government procurement in the just concluded ninth round from September 23-27.

In government procurement, issues related to state owned enterprises, Make in India and its application to EU bidders and goods remain unresolved.

“Only issues related to sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures l, dispute settlement and good regulatory practices have made progress,” said an official.

India and the EU re-launched negotiations for an FTA after a nine-year hiatus and started separate negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications in June 2022.

Negotiators said that EU wanted India to give explanation on the foreign direct investment proposals it rejects, something that New Delhi is apprehensive about.

The positions of the two sides on the negotiations on origin rules, which are key to check FTA circumvention and cheap imports, and technical regulations and conformity assessment were different on some products. They discussed rules of origin for textile products, wood and paper products, chemicals, precious metals and related products, machinery and electronics.On the other hand, discussions on market access in goods, sectoral annexes on cars, pharmaceuticals and disciplines relating to financial services, and recognition of professional qualifications were positive, they said.”This was a restricted round and the aim was to make progress on the substance of the central issues and get the exact picture of the positions of the two sides,” the official added.

The two sides continued discussions on investment liberalisation except services on the basis of a joint text.