4 months ago
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India and the European Union (EU) connected Friday (January 9, 2026) held talks successful Brussels connected the projected Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and reaffirmed their committedness to a rules-based trading model and a modern economical concern that safeguards the interests of farmers and MSMEs.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is connected a two-day authoritative sojourn to the EU office for the talks.
He has held high-level talks with EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner Maros Sefcovic for securing a mutually beneficial FTA.
"During this dialogue, we deliberated crossed cardinal areas of the projected agreement. We reaffirmed our committedness to a rules-based trading model and a modern economical concern that safeguards the interests of farmers and MSMEs portion integrating Indian industries into planetary proviso chains," Mr. Goyal said successful a societal media post.
The ministerial engagements travel a week of intensive deliberations successful Brussels, gathering upon the groundwork laid during high-level discussions held earlier this week (January 6-7) betwixt India's Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Director General for Trade of the European Commission Sabine Weyand.
These talks are important arsenic some sides are looking astatine concluding the negotiations astatine the earliest. The India-EU Summit is expected connected January 27 present and the apical EU enactment volition grace the Republic Day parade arsenic the main impermanent connected January 26.
On December 15, 2025, Mr. Agrawal stated that negotiations betwixt India and the 27-nation bloc, the EU, person entered the "most difficult" stage, and some sides are engaged to span the differences and adjacent the talks soon.
So acold 16 rounds of negotiations person been held.
India is pushing for zero-duty entree for its labour-intensive sectors, specified arsenic textiles and leather. On the different hand, the EU is demanding important work cuts successful automobiles, aesculapian devices, wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a beardown intelligence spot regime.
In June 2022, India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a broad FTA, an concern extortion statement and a pact connected geographical indications aft a spread of implicit 9 years. The talks were stalled successful 2013 owed to differences connected the level of opening up markets.
India's bilateral commercialized successful goods with the EU was $136.53 cardinal successful 2024-25 (exports worthy USD 75.85 cardinal and imports worthy USD 60.68 billion), making it the largest trading spouse for goods.
The EU marketplace accounts for astir 17% of India's full exports, and the bloc's exports to India represent 9% of its full overseas shipments.
Indian goods' exports to the EU, specified arsenic ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, tin go much competitory if the pact sails through.
The India-EU commercialized pact negotiations screen 23 argumentation areas oregon chapters, including commercialized successful goods, services, investment, commercialized remedies, rules of origin, customs and commercialized facilitation, competition, authorities procurement, quality settlement, intelligence spot rights, geographical indications, and sustainable development.
