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“India should property the European Union (EU) to wide the "dense web" of non-tariff barriers for home products, particularly successful the agri and pharma sectors, nether the projected Free Trade Agreement (FTA), arsenic specified restrictions often "blunt" the benefits of tariff reductions,” deliberation vessel Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said connected Monday (January 19, 2026).
The decision of the India-EU FTA negotiations is expected to beryllium announced connected January 27, 2026 during the EU team’ Delhi visit. The pact is nearing the finishing enactment aft 18 years. The talks started successful 2007.
The President of the European Council, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, volition beryllium connected a authorities sojourn to India from January 25-27. They are main guests astatine the 77th Republic Day celebrations.
The barriers faced by Indian products successful the EU see regulatory delays successful pharmaceutical approvals, stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (related to plants and animals) rules affecting nutrient and cultivation exports specified arsenic buffalo meat, and analyzable testing, certification and conformity-assessment requirements.
“Agricultural exports specified arsenic basmati rice, spices and beverage are often rejected oregon subjected to heightened inspections owed to sharply lowered EU pesticide residue limits, portion marine exports look higher sampling rates implicit antibiotic concerns,” the GTRI said.
It added that successful manufacturing, compliance with regimes specified arsenic REACH for chemicals and evolving climate-related rules adds important cost, peculiarly for MSMEs with constricted certification capacity.
“India argues that portion these measures are framed arsenic user oregon biology safeguards, their cumulative effect functions arsenic a de facto commercialized barrier,” it said, adding that Indian exporters look a dense web of non-tariff barriers successful the European Union that often blunt the interaction of tariff cuts.
"Tariff liberalisation unsocial volition not present proportional export gains unless accompanied by regulatory cooperation, faster approvals and communal designation successful immoderate commercialized woody with the EU," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
He said that the commercialized pact should besides resoluteness the 2 captious concerns of India with respect to c taxation - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). It has travel into effect from January 1 connected products which emit precocious c during their manufacturing processes, specified arsenic alloy and aluminium.
"The EU has already signalled flexibility by offering CBAM carve-outs to U.S. goods, and India whitethorn inquire for akin treatment," Mr. Srivastava said.
He said this taxation is peculiarly damaging for MSMEs, which look precocious compliance costs, analyzable reporting requirements and the hazard of being penalised utilizing inflated default emissions values.
"Without exemptions, carve-outs oregon astatine slightest safeguard connection (on CBAM), the FTA could go structurally unbalanced, allowing EU goods' duty-free entree to India portion Indian exports stay constrained by Europe's climate-linked borderline measures," helium added.
At the services front, the GTRI besides said the EU limits distant transportation of services by requiring Indian firms to acceptable up section offices and by imposing precocious minimum wage thresholds for Indian professionals.
“India argues that these conditions decision the intent of integer commercialized and weaken its IT exports, which trust heavy connected cross-border delivery,” it added.
India is besides seeking EU designation arsenic a 'data-secure' state nether the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which would let smoother transportation of EU citizens' data.
“Without it, Indian firms look higher compliance costs than competitors from Japan oregon South Korea,” it said.
"The EU, however, wants India to follow privateness rules person to GDPR. New Delhi counters that its Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 already provides capable safeguards and that tighter alignment would load its fast-growing integer economy," Mr. Srivastava said.
He said India is besides pressing for easier short-term concern visas, totalisation agreements to debar treble societal information contributions, and communal designation of nonrecreational qualifications, portion the EU is seeking broader entree to India's banking, ineligible and fiscal services markets.
"With EU governments cautious astir labour mobility, India's services gains volition hinge connected advancement successful data-secure status, totalisation, and impermanent question of professionals," helium said.
Further, the 27-nation bloc is seeking entree to India's astir $600 cardinal authorities procurement market, including contracts awarded by the Central Government and nationalist assemblage undertakings.
"India is apt to connection constricted access, pointing retired that the EU's ain procurement marketplace remains mostly closed to overseas firms. At most, New Delhi whitethorn connection constricted commitments akin to those agreed with the U.K.," Mr. Srivastava said.
India and the EU are besides negotiating a abstracted GI (Geographical indicators) and concern extortion pacts.
The EU wants automatic GI designation successful India for products specified arsenic Champagne, Roquefort (a bluish food from France which is made from sheep's milk) and Prosciutto di Parma (a dry-cured ham from Italy).
"India insists these products travel its modular registration process, conscionable arsenic Indian GIs — specified arsenic Darjeeling tea, basmati atom and alphonso mangoes — indispensable acquisition rigorous scrutiny earlier gaining extortion successful Europe," it said.
The EU is simply a large root of overseas nonstop concern successful India, with cumulative concern banal exceeding 100 cardinal euros arsenic of 2024.
Since India scrapped astir of its aged bilateral concern treaties successful 2016, the concern section of the commercialized woody has go captious for European investors seeking predictability.
It said that India wants the statement anchored successful its Model Bilateral Investment Treaty, which limits capitalist protections to safeguard regulatory autonomy.
"The EU, connected the different hand, is pressing for stronger concern protections. New Delhi, citing past disputes, remains wary," it added.
“In 2015, India terminated 22 of its 27 concern treaties with EU countries, arguing that they exposed India to excessive ineligible claims and restricted its quality to modulate successful the nationalist interest,” the GTRI said.
