India and the European Union reaffirmed their joint commitment to conclude the India-EU FTA by the end of 2025. During his visit to Brussels, Union Minister for Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal met with European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič and his team on outstanding issues related to the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations.
To take the ongoing discussions forward, the EU technical team led by the Director General of Commerce will visit India next week with the aim of reaching a constructive conclusion based on the potential solutions identified over the last two days, the Commerce Ministry said.
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“India recognizes the importance of ensuring that the FTA remains balanced by addressing both tariff and non-tariff barriers and creating transparent and predictable regulatory frameworks that accelerate trade for both partners in the years to come,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“There was intensive engagement to explore possible landing zones on outstanding issues. There was also good discussion on India’s concerns regarding non-tariff measures and new EU regulations. During the negotiations, HCIM highlighted the need for preferential treatment for India’s key demands, particularly those relating to labour-intensive sectors,” the statement said.
Both sides agreed to work closely to finalize non-sensitive industrial tariff lines. They also agreed that issues related to steel, automobiles, CBAM and other EU regulations still require deeper discussions, as these issues are more sensitive.
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Hervé Delphin, EU Ambassador to India, also said: “Positive momentum in the EU-India FTA negotiations in Brussels. Substantial progress. The EU and India are in continuous negotiation mode, with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of the year.”
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