Government sources have indicated that India and the European Union (EU) plan to conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement (ALE) proposed by the end of the year.
Although certain movements are expected during the 13th round of AFT negotiations in India next month, sources have added that advice will be levied to the ministers of both parties on the remaining issues that may require a political call. The EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, should meet the trade and industry of India Piyush Goyal during the talks scheduled for next month.
The two parties had exchanged offers related to their service sectors during the 12th round of negotiations which ended in Brussels last month. The main areas of interest in the field of market access for goods were discussed at the time.
In June 2025, government sources had declared to CNBC-TV18 that additional sessions took place in the negotiations of the Indian-European Free Trade Agreement (EU) (ALE) with the frequency of meetings passing from quarterly to monthly.
CNBC-TV18 had previously pointed out that India and the EU kept open options for an early harvest agreement, such as the India signed with Australia. The early harvesting agreement will include questions such as tariff and non -tariff barriers, intellectual property rights, government purchases, technical obstacles to trade and health and phytosanitary measures.
India and the EU continue a two -step approach to finalize an ALE, with the exception of an agreement to protect bilateral investments and recognition of geographic indications (GIS) with the block of 27 members.
Negotiations cover 23 political areas, including trade in goods and services, investment protection, customs procedures, technical obstacles, intellectual property rights and sustainable development. The series of previous negotiations managed to close five other chapters of the 23, said sources.
India has also communicated concerns concerning the regulations on products without deforestation (EUDR) and the mechanism for adjusting carbon borders (CBAM), measures that have also been criticized by EU companies.
According to a government official, the EU has opposed quality control orders (QCO) by calling them as non -tariff barriers (TNT), to which India responded by saying that QCOS also apply to Indian companies unlike internal EU concessions for its small and medium -sized enterprises (SMEs).
In return, India has offered that mutual recognition can be given by both parties in fields such as technical barriers to trade (TBT) and health and phytosanitary measures (SPS). The government official has added that good relations with the EU are reflected in the current strategic dialogue, the block of 27 members displaying a sensitivity to the reported concerns of India.
In June, the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, had met the EU commissioner for commercial and economic security, interinstitutional relations and transparency Maroš Šefčovič, European commissioner for agriculture and food Christophe Hansen, and the ministers of the member countries of the EU France, Italy and Swedish continues.
While the EU has requested changes to the Patent Act of India to allow a “ persistence ” of patents in pharmaceutical products, India has already refused to accept similar requirements of the United Kingdom and Switzerland for the exclusivity of data to protect the generic pharmaceutical industry within the framework of the ALE with the United Kingdom and the European Free Trade Association (AEFTA).
During the financial year 2023-24, the trade in bilateral products of the EU in India was $ 137.41 billion, with Indian exports worth $ 75.92 billion and imports worth $ 61.48 billion making the largest trading partner in India. The EU represents almost 17% of total exports from India, while EU exports to India represent 9% of its total sales abroad.
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