By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – India and the European Union on Wednesday reaffirmed their shared commitment to conclude the India-EU FTA by the end of 2025.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Maroš Šefčovič, in Brussels, and his team on outstanding issues related to the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations.
Commerce Ministry said to advance the ongoing discussions, the EU technical team led by the Director General for Trade will visit India next week with the objective of achieving a constructive conclusion based on the potential solutions identified over the past two days.”
According to a Ministry of Commerce & Industry statement India recognizes the importance of ensuring that the FTA remains balanced in addressing both tariff and non-tariff barriers and creating transparent and predictable regulatory frameworks that accelerate trade for both partners in the coming years,”.
“There was intensive engagement to explore possible landing zones on the outstanding issues. There was also a good discussion on India’s concerns on Non-Tariff Measures and the new EU regulations. During the negotiations, HCIM emphasised the need for preferential treatment for India’s key asks, particularly those with respect to labour-intensive sectors,” the statement said.
Both sides agreed to work closely to finalize the non-sensitive industrial tariff lines. They also agreed that issues related to Steel, Auto, CBAM, and other EU regulations still require further discussion, as these issues have higher sensitivities.
Maroš Šefčovič said on X, “Thank you, @PiyushGoyal, for three days of intensive and constructive discussions that have strengthened our positive momentum. We’ve made substantial progress across a number of areas, including further trade and investment facilitation.”
Hervé Delphin EU Ambassador to India also posted Stated “Positive momentum in EU-India FTA Talks in Brussels. Substantial progress. The EU & India in continuous negotiation mode, aiming to reach an agreement by the end of the year.”
