India and the European Union (EU) on Friday concluded their latest round of meetings aimed at narrowing differences in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and completing them by the end of this year.
“The deliberations covered a wide range of chapters, including goods, services, investments, trade and sustainable development, rules of origin and technical barriers to trade,” said a statement from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The two sides narrowed their differences and reached common agreement on many issues.
Negotiations between negotiators from the two sides began on November 3 and ended on November 7. As negotiators engaged, on November 5-6, European Commission (EC) Director-General (Trade) Sabine Weyand was in New Delhi to meet Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal.
In the meeting with the Secretary of DG Trade, the main outstanding issues in the negotiations were discussed with a view to a positive resolution and it was agreed to further accelerate efforts towards a balanced trade agreement.
The Commerce Secretary reaffirmed India’s commitment to achieving an outcome that promotes economic growth and development while ensuring fair and balanced distribution of benefits.
He also highlighted the need for clarity and predictability in the implementation of new EU regulatory measures, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the proposed new steel regulations.
The importance of continued engagement at the technical level in the coming weeks was highlighted to bridge gaps and work towards the common goal of concluding the talks at the earliest.
After the conclusion of the 14th round of FTA negotiations, both sides decided to change the format of the negotiations. Instead of negotiators meeting every few weeks, it was decided to maintain ongoing engagement at the chief negotiator level and continue intensive negotiations at the political level.
Before the New Delhi meeting, both sides had held meetings in Brussels in the last week of October. While the meetings between officials were underway, Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Brussels from October 26-28 and held intensive discussions on the FTA with European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.
The two sides have so far finalized 10 of the 20 chapters or policy areas of the proposed agreement. Four to five other chapters have largely been decided in principle. On more and more subjects, we are leaning towards convergence.
As negotiators meet in person and other thematic groups continue to engage, the EU trade commissioner will visit India in late November or early December.
Alongside the FTA, agreements on geographical indications and investment protection are also being discussed between the two parties.
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, as well as a strong intellectual property regime.
India’s demands in the negotiations are duty-free access to its labor-intensive imports and emerging sectors like automobiles and electronics.
The FTA is crucial as the 27-member bloc is India’s largest trading partner with bilateral merchandise trade of $136.2 billion, although the United States remains the largest market. India’s exports stood at $75.8 billion while imports stood at $60.6 billion in 2024-25. Both sides also have very strong services trade, which stood at $70 billion in 2023. India has a surplus of $9.25 billion.
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