India and the European Union (EU) are expected to advance their negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with a fresh round of talks in Brussels in the last week of October.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to visit Europe later this month to participate in the Berlin Global Dialogue, to be held from October 23-25, officials said.
He will then travel to Brussels, where he will meet European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and hold the next round of negotiations.
Goyal’s visit follows the conclusion of the 14th round of talks between the two sides, held from October 6-10, after engagements between India and the EU intensified in a push to finalize a trade deal before the end of the year.
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Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal also held discussions with European Commission (EC) Director-General for Trade (DG-Trade), Sabine Weyand, in Brussels.
After his Europe visit, Goyal will visit New Zealand, which is in talks with India for an FTA, having already held three rounds of negotiations between them.
In June 2022, India and the European bloc had resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an agreement on investment protection and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of more than eight years. Negotiations hit a roadblock in 2013 due to differences over the level of market opening, particularly with regard to the agricultural sector, which India wants to protect.
India’s bilateral merchandise trade with 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 about 17 percent of India’s total exports, and the bloc’s exports to India constitute 9 percent of its total overseas shipments.
