New Delhi: India and the European Union have successfully concluded negotiations for a long-pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Monday, describing the pact as 'balanced and forward-looking.' The agreement is expected to be formally announced on January 27, Tuesday, and is aimed at deepening India’s economic integration with the 27-nation European bloc.
Agrawal said the deal will come into force sometime next year, after the completion of legal vetting and procedural formalities. “Legal scrubbing of the text will take around five to six months. The formal signing will take place after that,” he said, adding that negotiations have now been fully finalised. “The deal will propel trade and investments in both economies,” he added.
The conclusion of talks coincides with the visit of top European leadership to New Delhi. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are in India as chief guests for the 77th Republic Day celebrations and to attend the 16th India-EU Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the delegation, saying their presence underlined the growing strength of the India-EU partnership.
In a statement posted on X, the European Commission said the partnership with India is built on shared goals, adding that the upcoming summit would mark the next step together in tackling global challenges.
Negotiations on the FTA gained momentum after Modi and von der Leyen agreed last year to fast-track talks. The discussions, which were relaunched in 2022 after a nine-year pause, intensified amid shifting global trade dynamics, particularly after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on several trading partners. An India-US trade deal remains pending.
According to reports, the final phase of negotiations involved intense discussions on market access, especially in automobiles and steel. The EU sought major reductions in India’s high import duties on cars, which can exceed 100 per cent, while India pressed for easing EU trade curbs on steel exports. Reuters reported that India plans to reduce tariffs on EU car imports to about 40 per cent from as high as 110 per cent under the deal. Sensitive farm and dairy products were excluded to safeguard Indian farmers.
European Union Trade Commissioner Marcos Sefcovic termed the agreement the 'mother of all deals,' saying it could create a free trade area covering nearly two billion people. He said the pact would substantially open the Indian market to European companies while excluding sensitive sectors to ensure a positive outcome for both sides.
European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas highlighted growing momentum in EU–India relations across trade, security and defence. In a post on X, she said the EU is taking advantage of the opportunity to strengthen ties, noting that personnel from the EU’s naval missions Atalanta and Aspides joined India’s Republic Day parade for the first time.
