He said that India and the European Union (EU) both agreed to respect the sensitivities of the other so as not to let the irritants hold the agreements.
“I think that in the case of the European Union, we are really very close. I think we are very close to finalizing a very good robust free trade agreement with the EU faster than most people would imagine it,” journalists told Goyal here.
In June 2022, India and the EU block of 27 countries resumed negotiations for a complete free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographic indications (GIS) after a difference of more than eight years.
Negotiations stalled in 2013 due to differences on the market opening level.
On February 28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the European Commission agreed to conclude a highly anticipated free trade agreement by the end of this year. Negotiations of the India-EU commercial commercial cover cover 23 political areas or chapters, in particular trade in goods, trade in services, investment, health and phytosanitary measures, technical obstacles to trade, commercial appeals, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, commercial defense, the purchase of government, settlement of disputes, intellectual property rights, sustainable development. The bilateral trade of India with the goods with the EU was 137.41 billion USD in 2023-24 (exports worth 75.92 billion USD and imports worth 61.48 billion USD), which makes them the largest trading partner for goods.
The EU market represents approximately 17% of the total exports of India, while EU exports to India represent 9% of its total shipments abroad.
In addition, the bilateral trade in services, in 2023, between India and the EU was estimated at 51.45 billion USD. Pti
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