Concerns over recognising Pakistan’s application for GI tag likely to complicate talks.

By Subramani Ra Mancombu

India will likely not accept any proposal from the European Union to decouple the issue of the protected Geographical Indication (GI) tag for basmati rice from the purview of the Indo-EU free trade agreement (FTA), say analysts. 

“Recent reports highlighting concerns over recognising  Pakistan’s application for GI tag to basmati rice are likely to complicate the FTA talks. The EU may adopt procedural or diplomatic bridges to avoid the dispute being a dealbreaker and hence look at decoupling it,” said S Chandrasekaran, a historian on basmati GI.

Given the importance the Indian government attaches to agriculture and dairy, New Delhi will be averse to delink the issue of GI tag for basmati rice from the FTA talks. 

“Basmati rice is linked to India’s sovereignty and heritage. If EU pushes to exclude the subject of basmati GI from Indo-EU FTA, it is nothing but trying to keep the sovereignty and heritage in abeyance, which is contrary to India-EU Strategic Agenda,” he said.  

Plea kept pending

The EU has kept pending India’s application for a basmati GI tag, which accords exclusive marketing rights, since July 2018. However, it was officially notified only in 2020. 

On the other hand, Pakistan sought a GI tag only in January 2024, and the EU republished it in April 2024. Pakistan’s application has been strongly opposed by Italy. The EU has accepted Italy’s opposition, which means Pakistan may not get the GI tag. 

However, the EU has been urging India and Pakistan to come up with a joint application for the GI tag. India has rejected this, since Pakistan has included Indian regions in its application, and this questions the sovereignty of the country. 

A trade analyst said there is a basic difference in the approach to GI between India and the EU. For the EU, the GI for a product is seen as an opportunity to fetch a premium. In the case of India, GI is linked to its culture and tradition, something which it will not be ready to compromise. 

New EU-India agenda

Referring to India’s basmati case in the EU in a joint communication to the European Parliament and Council on September 17, Brussels talked of a new strategic EU-India agenda.

It said: “The conclusion of an Agreement on Geographical Indications would improve trade opportunities and boost economic development by ensuring effective protection of names of iconic products in both parties’ markets.” 

The analyst said that by embedding GI protection within the EU–India FTA framework, the EU has effectively linked Basmati to EU–India strategic deliverables. “It has not linked anything to EU-Pakistan relations, which shows the importance attached to Indo-EU relations,” said the analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity.

India annually imports $355 million and $572 million worth of wine and distilled spirits, respectively.  Currently, the EU has a market share of 13 per cent ($118 million) in the Indian wine and spirits import market. The EU-India FTA has the potential to annually provide an additional $600 million worth of market access in India to the EU. This indicates an accelerating growth for the EU wines and spirits.  

$766 m market size

On the other hand, the EU basmati rice market size is $766 million.  In 2024-25, India exported $237 million-worth of basmati rice to the EU.  If basmati rice is excluded and EU wines and spirits continue to be in the FTA, India stands to lose $481 million in the GI products category.  

Among the GI products, the demand is higher for basmati rice.  Other products may have the potential, but will not lead to immediate grain in trade.  

In addition, the EU is also protecting the local rice milling industry and curbing the import of basmati rice varieties under the import duty derogation.

The EU, in another reference, said Europe and India face serious terrorist threats. “The Pahalgam attack in April 2025 was a tragic reminder of terrorism’s human cost. Both partners confront challenges linked to terrorism’s connections with organised crime, as well as the need to combat terrorism financing, online propaganda, and risks posed by emerging technologies,” the EU said. 

Sensitive layer

The EU said it was committed to further “strengthening counterterrorism cooperation” to assess global threats, counter extremism and terrorism financing, and strengthen collaboration “through capacity-building efforts, joint projects, and law-enforcement partnerships.”

This brings in a sensitive layer, revealing the EU’s trust in India as a partner in counterterrorism and security.  This will be undermined if the EU ignores India’s claims for a GI tag for its basmati rice.

The analyst said the European Commission (EC) refused to accede to a request from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for access to documents filed by Pakistan in its GI tag application.

However, it granted partial or full acces to some requested documents on November 12, 2024.  Pakistan too sought similar documents, but the EC refused to provide details. This led to Pakistan challenging the decision, but the plea is still pending. However, the analyst said the court has not determined any application against the commission on the merits. 

This will likely have an impact on the Indo-EU FTA, the analyst said. 

Published Date: October 1, 2025