In this image published on October 12, 2025, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal during a meeting. | Photo credit: PTI
India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations face issues related to market access, regulatory cooperation and agricultural sensitivities, The Hindu learned.
Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said the next formal round of negotiations has not been announced as the nature of these issues is such that they require constant discussion rather than waiting for a formal round.
The 14th and final round of negotiations took place from October 6 to 10 in Brussels. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his European counterparts have regularly reiterated their commitment to completing negotiations on the trade deal by the end of this calendar year.
“Negotiations on an FTA between India and the EU are progressing very well,” Mr Agrawal told a press conference. “We are in the last stage of the negotiations. The last stage was the most difficult because the most difficult things are decided at the end. We are in this stage of the negotiations. The last round saw real progress.”
Read also | Indian, EU officials optimistic about reaching trade deal this year
Continuous negotiation
He added that teams from both sides would continue to interact with each other to resolve their differences.
“At the moment, we have not yet decided on the next round of official negotiations because we believe there are problems in several areas that we need to resolve on an ongoing basis,” Mr. Agrawal said. “So instead of waiting for a round, fights happen virtually between the two sides.”
He added that the European team could travel to New Delhi in November to advance these discussions, but that it would not be a formal round of negotiations.
Persistent issues
According to sources at the Ministry of Commerce, the sticking points in the negotiations concern “market access, regulatory cooperation and agricultural sensitivities”.
One of the key areas where market access is being hotly negotiated is that of European automobiles in India. Agricultural sensitivities have been a long-standing issue as India seeks to protect its farmers from international competition.
The key area where greater cooperation from regulators is needed is rules of origin, which are the criteria used by countries to determine the “nationality” of a product.
“Some officials from the Indian team remained in Brussels to advance negotiations on rules of origin,” the source said. “This is an area where there is a lot of work to be done.”
Published – October 16, 2025 at 4:57 p.m. IST
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