India and EU will have the 'mother of all deals', says Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said a free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) would be the “mother of all deals”. His remarks came a day after Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal hinted that both sides were likely to announce a conclusion of trade talks on January 27.

 

“I have done seven deals so far, all with developed countries. This one will be the mother of all deals. The good thing about the deal will be that there is no competition between the EU and India. It’s a win-win for both sides,” the minister said on the sidelines of the Startup India event.

 

Goyal said there would be no compromise on the country’s interests and that all sensitive issues, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and dairy, would be addressed to India’s satisfaction.

 

The EU is India’s largest trading partner. India’s bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at $136.53 billion in 2024-25, with exports worth $75.85 billion and imports of $60.68 billion.

 

For New Delhi, the trade deal with the 27-nation European bloc is crucial. Its trade negotiations with the US have dragged, and it is exploring new export markets, as that country has imposed a 50 per cent additional tariff on its exports.

 

The agreement will cover all aspects, but only “sensitive” agriculture issues on “both sides” are off the table, a senior government official had said on Thursday.

 

“In earlier times, when governments were negotiating, they were negotiating from a position of weakness. Therefore, they were doing deals with Asean and such economies. They were trying to join RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), which would have meant an FTA with China. It would have been a death knell for ‘Make in India’, small-scale industries and farmers. All the FTAs by Prime Minister Narendra Modi are with developed countries and not even one with competing economies,” Goyal said. 

 

During the three-day (January 25-27) state visit, the President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, along with Prime Minister Modi. They will also be the chief guests at this year’s Republic Day parade.

 

Additionally, Goyal said exports in the first 14 days of January were “highly positive”, following 1.8 per cent growth in shipments in December.

 

On January 8-9, Goyal visited Brussels, in a decisive step forward in the India-EU FTA negotiations and in resolving pending issues. It was preceded by high-level discussions between Agrawal and the director-general for trade, European Commission, on January 6-7. 

 

The meetings focused on stocktaking the progress achieved across various negotiating tracks to “narrow divergences” and ensure clarity on outstanding issues, the Department of Commerce said.

 

Apart from the economic benefits of the trade agreement, the EU, especially its biggest members like Germany and France, is keen to wean India off Russian influence. Both New Delhi and the European bloc are hopeful that their deal will help cut their mutual dependence on China.