From 50 Years Ago: India and EEC

The visit of Mr Walter Hallstein to this country…has managed to bring to the fore the problem of our economic relations with the European Economic Community which had been relegated to the background following the breakdown of the negotiations for Britain’s admission to the EEC…

In his Lectures and in press interviews Hallstein has stressed the importance of India trying to reach an agreement with the Six on her trade with them by direct negotiation. In the provisional agreement reached by Britian at Brussels in August last, the Six, it will be recalled, had in addition to agreeing to make tariff concessions on some of their imports like tea, spices, essential oils, etc, offered to negotiate trade agreements with India, Pakistan and Ceylon by the end of 1966. These agreements were to aim at maintaining and, as far as possible increasing the foreign exchange receipts of these countries from exports to the Community and were to cover, besides tariffs and quota policies, private investment and technical assistance from the EEC.