Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested her European Union counterpart Cecilia Malmstr'm to resume the long-stalled negotiations over the proposed free trade agreement. Sitharaman tweeted yesterday that she suggested chief negotiators should start talks on Ind-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BITA). Both the ministers met on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on Thursday. <br/><br/>The negotiations launched in 2007 for the proposed BTIA have seen many hurdles with both sides having major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits, and liberal visa regime. Before this meeting, senior officials from both the sides had met twice this year to resolve the contentious issues. The pact is aimed at reducing or significantly eliminating tariffs on goods, facilitate trade in services and boost investments between the two sides. The two-way commerce in goods between India and the EU stood at USD 98.5 billion in 2014-15.