India, July 1 -- Negotiations for the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement have gained urgency because of US tariff policies and Europe's trade deficit with China, and both sides are committed to the yearend deadline for finalising the deal because failure will result in a "significant cost", EU ambassador Herve Delphin has said.

With the two sides set to begin the 12th round of negotiations in Brussels on July 7, Delphin said in an interview that five chapters of the proposed FTA on intellectual property, customs and trade facilitation, transparency, good regulatory practices and mutual administrative assistance were closed at the last round in May.

Delphin acknowledged that "big blocks", such as core market access issues, ta...