Positive progress on India-EU FTA; high level EU team to visit India next week

India and the European Union (EU) have reaffirmed their commitment to conclude the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025, with a high-level EU delegation scheduled to travel to India next week to discuss modalities.

The Commerce Ministry on Wednesday said that the EU technical team, led by the Director General for Trade, will visit India to work toward a “constructive conclusion” of the agreement based on potential solutions identified over the past two days.

The visit will be a follow up to the conclusion of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s three-day visit to Brussels to discuss the issue.

India said the minister had “productive and meaningful” engagements with Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, and his team. The discussions focused on outstanding issues related to the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations.

“Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to conclude the India-EU FTA by the end of 2025, following the direction from Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission Ms Ursula von der Leyen during the College of Commissioners’ visit to New Delhi in February 2025. The engagement focused on achieving a mutually beneficial, balanced and equitable trade agreement, reflecting the depth of political trust and the strategic ties between India and the European Union, and at the same time respecting each other’s sensitivities and priorities,” the ministry said in a statement.

Goyal has also warned that EU businesses could face an “existential issue” if these regulations (he mentioned 73) were not addressed adequately.

The statement said India recognises the importance of ensuring that the FTA addresses both tariff and non-tariff barriers and results in transparent and predictable regulatory frameworks that accelerate trade.

“There was intensive engagement to explore possible landing zones on the outstanding issues. There was also a good discussion on India’s concerns over non-tariff measures and new EU regulations. During the negotiations, the minister emphasised preferential treatment for labour-intensive sectors. Both sides agreed to work closely to finalise non-sensitive industrial tariff lines. They also agreed that issues related to Steel, automobiles, the CBAM and other EU regulations still require further discussion due to higher sensitivities,” the ministry said.

It added that India looks forward to working closely with the EU to transform this vision into reality through a "balanced, equitable and meaningful” agreement, and a collective commitment to peace and prosperity.

There are also reports that India has invited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to attend the Republic Day celebrations next year.