The legal text of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to be ready by July, which will be followed by its signing and start of the process of ratification, a senior official said Friday.
Post ratification the agreement will be operationalised on a mutually agreed date. Both sides are aiming to make the FTA operational by the end of 2026.
India and EU had announced the conclusion of negotiations on their FTA on January 27 this year after negotiations that lasted almost two decades. The first attempt for the FTA lasted from 2007 to 2013 but was abandoned due to differences over duties on automobiles and spirits.
In 2021 a decision was made to re-launch the negotiations and formal rounds of negotiations started in June 2022. It took 14 intense rounds of negotiations and many high level meetings for the deal to be finalised.
In the FTA India has secured market access for more than 99% of Indian exports by trade value to the EU. Beyond goods, it unlocks high-value commitments in services complemented by a comprehensive mobility framework enabling seamless movement of skilled Indian professionals.
India on the other hand will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6% to 97.5% of EU exports. Duties on high-end European cars (above €25,000) will be cut to 10% over five years, with a quota of 250,000 vehicles. On wine and spirits import duties will decrease to 20-30% from 150%, excluding low-cost wine