Eu-india Free Trade Agreement

Strong political push to seal FTA with India by 2025 end: EU ambassador

European Union Ambassador to India Herve Delphin on Wednesday said that there is "strong political commitment" from both sides to conclude the revamped India-EU Free Trade Agreement by the end of 2025. Of the 23 chapters under discussion, 11 have already been closed. Important chapters still under negotiation include market access for cars, steel, some aspects of services and investment and technical barriers to trade, Ambassador Delphin said. "No doubt, there is a strong political commitment to conclude the FTA negotiations by the end of the year," he added. Herve Delphin stated that a 40-member EU negotiator team is arriving in Delhi this week to resolve lingering hurdles. Current bilateral goods trade stands at approximately USD 136 billion, making the EU India's third-largest trading partner after the US and China. Delphin emphasised that the agreement is WTO-compatible and not a zero-sum game. EU and India combined represent 25 per cent of world GDP and 25 per cent of global

India stresses focus on non-tariff barriers, import duty in EU trade talks

India has emphasised that resolving non-tariff barriers faced by businesses is as important as addressing import duty issues for meaningful progress in talks on the proposed free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), an official statement said on Friday. The progress of the talks was discussed during the meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic in Brussels. Both leaders also reaffirmed their shared resolve to conclude the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of 2025. "India emphasised that meaningful progress in trade negotiations requires an equal focus on Non-tariff Barriers (NTBs) alongside tariff (import duty) discussions and regulatory frameworks must be inclusive, proportionate, and avoid restricting trade," the commerce ministry said. The country has earlier on multiple occasions flagged NTBs being faced by domestic industry in the European Union markets

Goyal likely to visit Europe this month to boost trade, investment ties

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to visit two European countries later this month with an aim to further boost trade and investment ties, an official has said. The minister is expected to lead a business delegation to these countries, the official said. The visit assumes significance as India signed a comprehensive free trade agreement with the four European nation bloc EFTA in March last year. It is expected to be implemented this year. The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The two sides signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on March 10, 2024. Under the pact, India has received an investment commitment of USD 100 billion in 15 years from the grouping while allowing several products such as Swiss watches, chocolates and cut and polished diamonds at lower or zero duties. India has set up a dedicated platform EFTA desk to promote trade, investment, and business facilitation .

EU-India free trade talks important for both sides, says European official

With backing from leaders like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Agotha emphasised the importance of this agreement for both parties

India, EU to resume FTA talks from March 10 amid Trump tariff concerns

India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) bloc will start the tenth round of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement from Monday in Brussels amid Trump tariff threats, according to an official. The talks are expected to focus on resolving remaining issues so that the agreement can be finalised by the end of this year. During the recent visit of EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, the two sides have discussed ways to accelerate efforts towards a balanced and mutually beneficial trade pact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month agreed to conclude the ambitious India-EU free trade deal by this year amid fears of the Trump administration's threat of higher tariffs. "The two sides are scheduled to hold the tenth round of negotiations for the FTA from March 10-14 in Brussels," the official said. In June 2022, India and the 27-nation EU bloc resumed the negotiations after a gap of over eight .

Austrian envoy Wieser urges stronger India-EU ties, calls 2025 'key year'

Noting that the ties between India, Austria and the European Union has been intensifying over the past years, Ambassador Wieser affirmed hope that the trend will continue in the coming years

Shift towards developed markets: India's FTA needle turns to the West

Indian industry always preferred to have deeper trade relations with traditional markets - EU and the US- as it offers industry greater complementarity

India, EU to hold next round of talks on proposed FTA from Mar 10

India and the European Union will hold the next round of talks on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) from March 10 to 14, a senior government official said on Monday. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce L Satya Srinivas said that before the round the entire delegation of the European Commission will be in India from February 28. Days before the visit of the European Commission team, UK's Minister of State for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander will be in India for a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on February 24. On February 25th, officials of India and UK will restart talks on the free trade agreement. "We have taken stock of where we left in the last round (14th) and will take it forward during the visit," Satya Srinivas said. India and the UK have held 14 rounds of negotiations on the FTA since its launch in January 2022.

UK trade secy Jonathan Reynolds to visit India in Feb for FTA talks

Britain's Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, on Monday revealed plans to visit India next month with a focus on finalising the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations as part of the UK government's ambition to elevate the bilateral partnership across all sectors. Addressing India Global Forum's (IGF) annual UK-India Parliamentary Lunch at the House of Lords complex in London, Reynolds highlighted the strength of the bilateral trading relationship which stood at GBP 41 billion in the year until September 2024. However, the Cabinet minister went on to reaffirm the British government's commitment to improve trade between India as the fifth and the UK as the sixth largest economies of the world. I want to reaffirm the UK's commitment to deliver growth for both countries through the trade deal that we're talking about, through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Technology Security Initiative; and I can let you know exclusively, I hear what you say

India-EU trade pact talks need political directions for meaningful deal

The proposed free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union (EU) need political directions to reach a commercially meaningful deal while understanding each other's sensitivities, an official statement said on Thursday. The pact came up for discussion during an interaction between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Ambassadors of the European Commission delegation. Goyal said that both sides are aiming for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA. "The FTA negotiations, after 9 rounds of intense engagement, need political directions to arrive at a commercially meaningful deal while understanding the sensitivities of each other," the commerce and industry ministry said. The minister also noted that any sustainability discussions must appreciate the principle of 'Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR)' and implementation of such measures should take into account differing paths of development. These remarks

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz looking to fast-track FTA between India, EU

Germany is one of India's top trading partners within the EU, with exports to Germany reaching $10 billion and imports from Germany at $16.7 billion in the FY24

India-EU next round of talks for trade, investment agreement likely in Sep

Senior officials of India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) are expected to hold the next round of talks for the proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting commerce and investments, in September, an official said. Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce Darpan Jain said that the eighth round of talks was concluded on June 28. He said that discussions were held on all 21 chapters in the meeting and progress was made in number of areas such as government procurement, digital trade, technical barriers to trade, goods, and market access. "We plan to hold more inter-sessional meetings in July and August and we intend to have another round (of talks) in the last week of September," Jain told reporters here. On June 17, 2022, India and the EU formally resumed negotiations on the proposed agreement, after a gap of over eight years. They are negotiating Trade and Investment Agreement, and a pact on Geographical Indications (GI). India had started negotiations for a tra

EFTA: Trade deficit, Swiss blanket removal of import duties to hurt India

Large trade deficit with Switzerland and its decision to remove import duties on almost all industrial goods for all countries starting January 1 would limit gains for India under the proposed trade agreement with EFTA bloc, a report said on Monday. The report by economic think tank GTRI said the trade agreement in the current format will not help Indian exports and will result in higher imports and wider trade deficit. India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are negotiating a free trade agreement, officially dubbed as Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with a view to boosting economic ties. FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations were initiated in January 2008. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. "The Indian side faces challenges in achieving a balanced outcome in the agreement with EFTA. There are concerns due to the large trade deficit in favour of EFTA, Switzerland's new policy of allowing tariff-free entry for all indust

India looks for greater mkt access for alcoholic beverages in FTA: Official

India looks for greater market access on a reciprocal basis for its alcoholic beverages while negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs), a senior government official said on Thursday. Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, Rajesh Agrawal, said that demand for Indian spirits is growing in the world. "On the market access point of view, it is on a reciprocal basis. If we are opening up our market in any way...we also try to look for market access in other countries," he told reporters here. The remarks assume significance as India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK and the European Union (EU). Cutting customs duties in the sector is one of the key demands of these countries. "This is one of the areas (where) we are trying to negotiate upon and...we are trying to see that the duty concessions that are required in various destinations, we get (that)," he said. He added that the condition that for a product to qualify as a whisky, it must be matured for a period n

Rules of origin delay FTA tariff discussions with European Union

India for conservative norms, but EU wants more liberal criteria

EU wants India to prohibit 'discriminatory buy national practices': Report

India's Make in India and Atmanirbhar initiatives aim to favour domestic manufacturing and discourage imports, the European Union said

India, EU trade pact to help unleash significant untapped potential: Goyal

Goyal said they were here to relaunch the negotiations for a fair, equitable and balanced free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and India

India, EU resume talks for free trade agreement after more than 8 years

India and the European Union (EU) finally restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement on Friday after a gap of over eight years

EU to resume talks with India on free trade agreement, discuss strategic co

They hope that the 14th EU-India Summit will get economic dialogue to relaunch talks on FTA