India and the EU have exchanged tariff reduction offers on goods for the proposed

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bilateral trade and investment agreement, negotiations for which are at an advanced stage, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

"Exports to EU will increase as products exported from India to European Union will get preferential duty treatment.. on conclusion of this FTA (free trade agreement)," minister of state for commerce and industry Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Lower House in a written reply.

He said the two sides have exchanged legal texts of the proposed agreement on trade in goods and services, investment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade and intellectual property rights and other areas.

"Tariff liberalisation offers have also been exchanged on trade in goods. The negotiations are at an advanced stage," he said, adding eight rounds of negotiations, beginning June 2007, have taken place.

Scindia further said India has undertaken consultations with the stakeholders including local producers to assess the impact of various offers and requests made by the EU for the FTA negotiations to protect the interests of domestic agricultural, industrial and other sectors.

"The feedback received from these consultations has been considered for drawing up the initial sensitive list of products on which no tariff reductions proposed to be offered by us to the EU," he said.