Basmati rice dispute clouds India–EU free trade talks

Basmati rice dispute: The free trade agreement between India and the European Union, under negotiation for years, has entered an unexpected quagmire. The stumbling block is not tariffs on automobiles or pharmaceuticals, but basmati rice. Both India and Pakistan claim exclusive rights to the “basmati” designation, a dispute that has spilled into Brussels’ corridors and threatens to derail India’s most ambitious trade deal in decades. New Delhi hopes to conclude the pact to secure better access for its exporters, the contest over a grain revered in both South Asian nations has become an outsized diplomatic and economic challenge. For India, the proposed free trade agreement with the European Union is one of its most consequential trade initiatives. The EU is India’s third-largest trading partner, accounting for more than 10% of its total trade, and a deal could provide tariff concessions across textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals, and agri-products where Indian exporters enjoy a ...