Trade Ministry shuffles negotiators in an effort to preserve institutional memory

Experts noted that the nation's trade negotiations may require a separate service and that the country's negotiating strategy cannot depend on transportable generalist public officials.The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) are two formidable negotiators, so India's Commerce and Industry Ministry has begun exploring strategies to improve its negotiation position. This exercise will probably center on closing gaps that result from institutional memory loss caused by the frequent transfers of important federal officers who lead protracted trade discussions, among other factors.The Ministry is considering a number of actions, one of which is creating a new set of standard operating procedures (SOP) for expediting trade negotiations.

The Ministry formerly had a 60-page SOP that included information on how to handle trade negotiations. At the two-day "Chintan Shivir" event on May 16–17, a number of past and present negotiators as well as trade experts emphasized that India is dealing with a systemic issue in the context of trade negotiations, given the rapidly evolving nature of trade talks that extend beyond traditional topics like tariff concessions to labor and environmental issues.