Trade Invaders: How big business is driving the EU-India free trade negotiations

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Abstract

India and the EU launched negotiations on a far-ranging free trade agreement (FTA) in 2007, including trade in goods, the deregulation of services, investment, government procurement and the strict enforcement of intellectual property rights. The aim is to conclude the agreement in early 2011. But there are major concerns, prompted by the scant information that has emerged from the negotiations, that the EU-India FTA will in fact fuel poverty, inequality and environmental destruction. This report examines industry's demands and corporate lobbying strategies on both sides of the talks. Powerful corporate sectors, including banking, retail and manufacturing, are demanding access to the Indian market – exposing rural farmers, small traders and businesses to crushing competition. Big Pharma's proposals to strengthen intellectual property rights could endanger the availability of affordable generic medicines for the treatment of AIDS, cancer and malaria, not just in India but across the developing world. In Europe, corporate India's market access agenda is likely to lead to job losses in the automobile and textiles sector, increased pressure on health, quality and labour standards. The report also highlights how business interests have been granted privileged access to policy makers on both sides of the negotiations, allowing them to effectively set the FTA agenda. The issues raised by public interest groups, in contrast, have been largely ignored.