Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday met European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic as part of his engagements in Brussels to expedite the conclusion of a balanced and ambitious free trade agreement.
“During this dialogue, we deliberated across key areas of the proposed agreement. We reaffirmed our commitment to a rules-based trading framework and a modern economic partnership that safeguards the interests of farmers and MSMEs while integrating Indian industries into global supply chains,” the minister posted on X.
Strategic Goals and Upcoming Summit
The meeting’s objective was also to provide strategic guidance to the negotiating teams and resolve pending issues before the India-EU Summit that is expected to be held on January 27 in New Delhi.
Before the summit the top leadership of the EU – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa – will be the chief guests at India’s Republic Day celebrations.
The ministerial engagement on Friday follows a week of intensive deliberations in Brussels, building upon the groundwork laid during high-level discussions held earlier this week between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, and the Director-General for Trade of the European Commission Sabine Weyand. The official level meetings were held on 6-7 January and Goyal is in Brussels on January 8-9.
Goyal’s visit to Brussels comes just a month after the visit of EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and other senior officials related to trade to advance the FTA talks. Goyal and Sefcovic held two days of extensive negotiations in December to move the FTA towards conclusion.
Both sides had set a deadline of December-end to wrap up the discussions on the FTA and officials say the deal would definitely be doable by the first quarter of calendar year 2026.
Economic Significance and Trade Statistics
The European Union is currently India’s largest trading partner and a key investor. Bilateral merchandise trade between India and EU stood at $ 90.7 billion dollars in 2024-25 with India’s exports at $ 51.0 billion and imports at $ 39.7 billion. In contrast the bilateral goods trade between India and US was $ 84.2 billion with Indian exports at $ 53.0 billion and imports at $ 31.2 billion.
This year too India’s export performance in Europe continues to strengthen, with Spain, Germany, Belgium and Poland emerging as stable and increasingly important demand centres.
Spain stands out as a high-growth European market for Indian exports with exports growing at 54.4% on year to $ 4.7 billion in April-November. Germany remains a steady anchor market. Exports to Germany grew 9.3% on year to $ 7.5 billion. Exports to Belgium edged up from $ 4.2 billion to $ 4.4 billion. India’s exports to Poland increased 7.6% to $ 1.82 billion in Apr–Nov.
As India strengthens its manufacturing depth and supply reliability, these European markets are likely to play an increasingly strategic role in anchoring India’s long-term export growth across the EU.
India and the EU started negotiations on FTA in July 2022. Since then they have held 14 rounds of negotiations. The proposed FTA deals with 23 policy areas organised as chapters.
Most of these chapters have already been closed. India has also taken up the issue of imposition of carbon tax through Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by the EU that is expected to put Indian exporters of steel and aluminium at a serious disadvantage.