The European Union wants to negotiate free trade agreements with India, Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an EU official announced in January.
Ignacio Garcia Bercero, head of the European Commission Trade Directorate’s World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement and Trade Barriers Regulation Unit, said however that successful completion of the current WTO remains the EU's first policy priority.
Bercero indicated that bilateral negotiations would complement any deal reached at the WTO by reducing specific barriers to trade that exist with specific trading partners.
He said the EU is particularly interested in securing a trade deal with India in order to address high Indian tariffs on goods and services.