India-EU FTA to have adverse impact on farmers, fishers, patients, traders: Civil society

The civil society, comprising farmers’ groups, trade unions, patient groups, traders, women’s rights organisations, academia and NGOs, on Friday opposed the proposed India-EU free trade agreement, the third round of whose negotiations concluded this week, citing adverse impact on farmers, fishers, patients, traders and New Delhi’s digital industrialisation strategy.

Representatives of the the Forum for Trade Justice, a national network of more than 100 organisations, has expressed concern that the FTA could have serious repercussions for India’s development and undermine livelihoods across multiple sectors.

Bhartitya Kisan Union (Tikait), Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition and Forum for Trade Justice, among others said that the EU is asking India to accept norms which protect seed companies’ rights over farmers’ rights and extend monopolies on new medicines and that “the EU-India FTA is not in line with the kind of people-centred development that India urgently needs”.

“EU is attempting to force India to join UPOV 1991, an international convention, which protects seed companies’ rights over farmers’ rights,” said Kannaiyan Subramaniam, General secretary, South Indian Coordination Committee of the Farmers Movements (SICCFM).
UPOV or International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants seeks to protect new varieties of plants by IP rights and does not recognise farmers’ rights.

“EU’s TRIPS-plus demands will also expand MNC control over agrochemicals. The resultant increase in the prices of pesticides and seeds will further raise the already massive costs of production for Indian farmers,” the forum said.

The civil society said that the EU also wants free cross-border data flows and the full opening of government data which will challenge India’s sovereign rights over its data and the policy space to use such data for the benefits of Indian communities, workers, small enterprises, and start-ups.

“Making such concessions to the EU will also have implications for India’s security. Taking on commitments on digital trade will also mark a permanent shift in India’s trade policy stance on e-commerce at the WTO and in other FTAs.”, said Parminder Jeet Singh, Executive Director of IT for Change.

India has so far refrained from making any international commitments on digital trade in order to protect its policy space to design national digital sector policies in the future including on digital industrialisation.

They said that the proposed text by the EU allows expansive rights for European investors and allows the most favoured nation clause which enables investors to “cherry pick from provisions across the bilateral investment treaties signed by India and apply the most favourable provisions to their cases”.