The thirteenth round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks between India and the European Union (EU) begins in New Delhi on September 8, as both sides step up efforts to reach an agreement at a time when Trump’s tariffs have hit global commerce.
The talks will continue through the week, with EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic and agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen scheduled to meet their Indian counterparts Piyush Goyal and Shivraj Singh Chouhan from September 11 on, government officials said.
This round is crucial as it comes after nearly two months during which the EU sealed a trade deal with the United States, which slapped 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods.
A key takeaway for the Indian side from the US-EU trade deal is to get a similar agreement with the bloc, offering flexibility on the contentious Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
“From today, the trade teams of India and the EU will begin negotiations. This will be followed by talks between two commissioners from the EU and India’s Union ministers for commerce and agriculture from Thursday. The meetings between the leaders is mainly to give a political push to the trade talks and ensure that timelines are not overshot due to minor technicalities,” said one of the government officials cited above.
The key areas of negotiations will be reducing non-tariff barriers, increasing market access and public procurements.
India has clearly drawn its red lines by keeping items such as rice, sugar and dairy out of the trade deal. The EU is looking for increased market access for automobiles and spirits.
So far, the two sides have closed 11 of the 23 chapters or policy areas of the FTA, covering intellectual property, customs and trade facilitation, transparency, regulatory practices, mutual administrative assistance, SMEs, sustainable food systems, dispute settlement, competition and subsidies, digital trade, and the anti-fraud clause, the official said.
India and the EU have set a target of concluding negotiations by December. In a phone conversation last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU's top leaders Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen pledged to seal the deal at the earliest, underlining the need for a partnership to foster global stability and promoting a rule-based order.
Also read: Urging India Inc to buy from exporters, talking to 50 nations to diversify market: Goyal.
A second government official said the 14th round of talks will be held in Brussels from October 8. The 12th round of talks, too, were held at the EU headquarters July 7 and 11.
India-EU summit 2026
Beyond trade talks, the two sides have a series of meetings lined up in a run-up to the India-EU summit to be held in the country in the first three months of 2026.
On September 17, EU foreign and security policy chief Kaja Kallas will unveil a strategic agenda roadmap document on the bloc’s vision of its relations with India. The European Council is expected to endorse this vision before the year-end, so that it can be adopted at the summit, the second official said.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar is set to participate in the Indo-Pacific Forum in Brussels from November 9-10. This will be followed by a ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), dates for which are yet to be decided.
The TTC is the highest body overseeing cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, biotech, security and defence.
India-EU’s bilateral trade in goods was recorded at $135 billion in the financial year 2023-24.
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