India and the 27-member European Union (EU) bloc have entered the 14th round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) that the two are eager to finalise before the year ends.
Senior Indian officials and representatives of trade from the EU will meet in Brussels on October 6 to start the five-day talks that are intended to iron out differences on issues in the FTA, an official said.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, had recently expressed hope that the two sides will sign the agreement soon and pave the way for two-way commerce and investments to boom.
Goyal is also likely to meet EU Trade Commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, in South Africa later this month to review the progress of the talks, as the deadline to conclude the negotiations is December.
Sefcovic and the European Commission’s Agriculture Commissioner, Christophe Hansen, were in India last month to further talks with Goyal.
Also Read: India, EU FTA in crucial phase as talks enter 13th round
It was in June 2022 that India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA after a gap of eight years. An investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications was stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets to each other’s products.
The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including trade in goods, trade in services, investment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, trade defense, government procurement, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, geographical indications, and sustainable development.
Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants tax reduction in other products like wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.
Indian goods being exported to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive if the pact sails through.
India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 136.53 billion in 2024-25 (exports worth USD 75.85 billion and imports worth USD 60.68 billion), making it the largest trading partner for goods.
The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India’s total exports, and the bloc’s exports to India constitute 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments.
In addition, the bilateral trade in services between India and the EU was estimated at USD 51.45 billion in 2023.
Follow us
