Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will travel to Brussels this week for high-level talks with the European Union on the long-pending India-EU Free Trade Agreement, with negotiations now in their final and most difficult phase.According to an official, Goyal will be in Brussels on January 8-9, where he will meet Maros Sefcovic, executive vice-president and European trade commissioner. The minister is expected to leave India on Tuesday evening. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will also be in Brussels for the negotiations.
Before his visit to Brussels, Goyal will stop in Liechtenstein on January 7 to hold discussions aimed at developing trade and investment ties between the two countries. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which also includes Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. India and the EFTA bloc implemented a free trade agreement on October 1, 2025.The visit to Brussels comes at a critical time for the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as both sides intensify efforts to conclude negotiations that have been under discussion for several years. The talks have reached what officials describe as the most complex stage, with sensitive issues still to be resolved.Earlier, on December 15, Commerce Secretary Agrawal had said that negotiations with the 27-member European bloc had entered the “most difficult” phase. He noted that both sides were actively working to bridge differences and reach an early conclusion. Among the issues under discussion is the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which has implications for Indian exports, according to news agency PTI.The 16th round of India-EU FTA negotiations was held from December 3 to 9, during which key chapters were discussed. These included trade in goods and services, investments, rules of origin and technical barriers to trade.India and the EU had resumed negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement in June 2022, as well as negotiations on an investment protection pact and an agreement on geographical indications. These negotiations have resumed after an eight-year hiatus, following their suspension in 2013 due to differences over market access commitments.The European Union is India’s largest trading partner for goods. Bilateral merchandise trade stood at $136.53 billion in 2024-25, with Indian exports worth $75.85 billion and imports worth $60.68 billion, PTI reported. The EU accounts for around 17 percent of India’s total exports, while exports to India account for around 9 percent of the bloc’s global shipments.The EU is seeking to slash tariffs in sectors such as automobiles and medical devices, as well as reduce taxes on products such as wine, spirits, meat and poultry. He also advocates for a stricter regime regarding intellectual property rights. On the other hand, Indian exporters see significant gains if the deal goes through, especially in sectors such as clothing, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products and electrical machinery.The India-EU trade negotiations span 23 chapters, covering areas from customs and trade facilitation to government procurement, dispute resolution and sustainable development.
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