New Delhi: The visiting European Union (EU) team will hold talks with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday on the status of negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement, an official said. They set a year-end deadline to conclude negotiations.
“The EU team will meet the minister on Monday,” the official said. Divergences still need to be ironed out in certain areas such as steel, carbon tax, automobiles and non-tariff barriers. In June 2022, India and the 27 EU countries resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA (free trade agreement), an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over eight years.
Bilateral merchandise trade between India and the EU stood at $136.53 billion in 2024-25 ($75.85 billion in exports and $60.68 billion in imports), making it the largest merchandise trading partner. The EU market accounts for around 17 percent of India’s total exports, and the bloc’s exports to India constitute 9 percent. of its total shipments abroad.
In addition to demanding significant reductions in tariffs on automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants reduced taxes on other products such as wine, spirits, meat, poultry and a strong intellectual property regime. Exports of Indian products to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products and electrical machinery, can become more competitive if the deal is concluded.
Negotiations on the India-EU trade deal cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including trade in goods, services, investments, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, government procurement, dispute resolution, intellectual property rights and geographical indications.
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