As uncertainty hangs over India’s trade negotiations with the United States, New Delhi is moving ahead on another front, its long-awaited trade deal with the European Union. According to officials speaking to the reporters on Thursday, talks with the EU are now at an advanced stage, with most chapters already agreed upon and only a few issues left to resolve.
Once signed and implemented, the India-EU deal would be one of the largest trade agreements India has ever entered into. According to a report from the Indian Express, officials believe it could help soften the blow of massive US tariffs and open up fresh opportunities for Indian labour-intensive exports in the European market.
India pushes ahead with EU trade deal
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said on Thursday that India and the EU have closed 20 out of the 24 chapters of the proposed free trade agreement and are working closely to wrap up the remaining ones before senior EU leaders visit India later this month.
“We were already in the last and most arduous leg of the negotiations with the EU for three months. We are very close now. We have closed 20 out of 24 chapters. There are a few issues on which the negotiations are ongoing. We are virtually engaged on a day-to-day basis. We are trying to see if we can meet the timeline before our leaders meet,” Agarwal told reporters, according to The Indian Express.
The effort to finalise the deal has picked up pace ahead of the visit of top EU leaders to India. European Council President Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be the chief guests at India’s Republic Day celebrations. They will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27.
The urgency to close the EU deal also comes amid rising concerns among Indian exporters. With US tariffs rising, exporters fear losing orders to rival countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and even China, which face lower duties.
Why the India-EU deal matters now
The urgency on both sides to reach a deal comes at a time when global trade is facing disruptions. While talks with the US have been clouded by uncertainty and higher tariffs, India has strategically moved to close other trade agreements. In 2025 alone, New Delhi finalised three trade deals.
Agriculture, one of the most sensitive areas in trade talks, is expected to remain outside the scope of the India-EU agreement. According to the Indian Express, citing an official, this issue has been kept off the table by both sides.
European news website Euractiv reported that European parliamentarians in a closed-door meeting were told that the EU was set to sign a free trade agreement with India this month, without agriculture being part of it.
Agriculture has also been a major stumbling block in India’s talks with the US. Washington has been pressing India to allow imports of genetically modified products such as corn and soya, a demand New Delhi has resisted.
The Indian Express earlier reported that negotiations between Indian apparel exporters and US buyers have stalled for summer orders worth nearly $2 billion. As talks with the US remain unresolved, India is clearly betting on Europe to help steady its trade outlook in the current uncertainty in global market.