Live Mint - 15 July 2025
India-EU trade talks: Optimism in the air as next round scheduled for September — what is on the table?
By Eshita Gain
India and the European Union (EU) are preparing to hold the next round of negotiations on their proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in September.
This development comes as both sides exchanged offers related to the services sector last week, an official confirmed on Tuesday.
What happened in last round of talks?
L Satya Srinivas, Special Secretary in the Department of Commerce, said that the 12th round of talks recently concluded in Brussels, reported PTI.
"We have exchanged our offers on services and non-services,” he said, adding, “We also discussed key interests in market access related to goods as well.”
The upcoming 13th round of talks will be held in the first week of September, Srinivas confirmed.
Optimism in the air
In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed negotiations for a free trade agreement, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications (GIs) after an eight-year hiatus.
The talks had stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up of the markets, the news agency reported.
Both sides are optimistic, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission president agreeing on February 28 to seal a much-awaited free trade deal by the end of this year.
What are the key demands?
The EU has already pushed for significant duty cuts on items such as automobiles and medical devices.
Other than that, the bloc has also demanded tax reduction on products such as wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.
If the pact is concluded successfully, Indian goods exports to the EU, such as ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals, steel, petroleum products, and electrical machinery, can become more competitive.
Areas covered in trade pact
The India-EU trade pact negotiations are comprehensive, covering over 23 policy areas. These include
- Trade in Goods and Services
- Investment
- Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
- Technical Barriers to Trade
- Trade Remedies
- Rules of Origin
- Customs and Trade Facilitation
- Competition
- Trade Defence
- Government Procurement
- Dispute Settlement
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Geographical Indications (GIs)
- Sustainable Development
India-EU trade relations
The EU stands as India’s largest trading partner for goods, with bilateral trade reaching $137.41 billion in 2023-24.
The figure includes exports worth $75.92 billion and imports worth $61.48 billion.
The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, while the EU's exports to India make up 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments.
Additionally, the bilateral trade in services between India and the EU was estimated at $51.45 billion in 2023, the news agency reported.
