India, EU committed to early conclusion of FTA: Goyal

India and the EU have reiterated their shared commitment towards early conclusion of the bilateral Free Trade Agreement, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said. “A balanced and mutually beneficial FTA will unlock new opportunities for people & businesses on both sides,” Goyal posted on X.

EU Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic, and EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Commissioner Hansen are in Delhi to take forward the trade talks.

The timing of the meeting is also important for India as US President Donald Trump recently suggested to the EU that it should impose 100 per cent tariffs on India and China for buying Russian oil.

The US imposed a 50 per cent import tariff on Indian goods last month which includes a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil and defence goods and allegedly fuelling Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

In May 2021, India and the EU agreed to resume negotiations for a balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial FTA after a gap of nine years.

Earlier this week, Goyal said that 60-65 per cent of the chapters of the trade agreement had already been finalised, Some of the tricky areas in the talks include demands by the EU for market access for agriculture goods, manufacturing products like automobiles and access to financial services. On India’s part, it wants its demands on mobility of professionals, among others, to be accommodated.

During her India visit in February, EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen said the India-EU FTA would be the largest of its kind globally and was likely to be finalised by the end of the year.

India signed an FTA with the EFTA bloc of countries, led by Switzerland, last year and finalised an FTA with the UK earlier this year.

Published on September 12, 2025