UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 32 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2017 question on India Eu Trade Investment Agreement

Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of negotiations held between India and

  1. European Union
  2. Gulf Cooperation Council
  3. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  4. Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Show answer

Answer: A. European Union

Verdict

The answer is the European Union. The Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement is the India and European Union negotiation.

Analysis

The BTIA is the formal name for the free trade agreement India has been negotiating with the European Union, talks that were launched in 2007 and had been deadlocked since 2013 after sixteen rounds, with the European side raising concerns over India's termination of bilateral investment treaties with several member states. The Gulf Cooperation Council, the OECD and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have all featured in Indian economic diplomacy, but none is the counterparty to this particular agreement.

Source

Press Information Bureau release and press reporting on India and European Union trade talks.

How to crack it

Read broad based as the distinguishing word, since it signals an agreement covering goods, services and investment together rather than a narrow tariff deal, and only a large developed bloc negotiates on that scale with India. The OECD is not a trade negotiating body and the Shanghai grouping is primarily political and security focused, which removes two options structurally. Keep India's major trade negotiations tabulated by counterparty, because the names recur.

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