India, EU begin 14th round of trade talks in Brussels today

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India and the European Union (EU) will on October 6 start the 14th round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) in Brussels, government officials told Moneycontrol.

The talks are scheduled to go on for five days after which India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal and his EU counterpart Maros Sefcovic will meet to review the progress in South Africa on the sidelines of the G20 trade commissioners’ summit, they said.

Both sides are looking to conclude the trade deal by end of this year.

The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas, or chapters, of which at least two – market access and rules of origin – remain unresolved and hence, will be taken up for discussion in the fresh round of talks.

Speaking ahead of the negotiations, EU ambassador Herve Delphin said, “While some countries are raising tariffs or otherwise closing their markets, we should use the FTA to diversify trade, hedge against uncertainties and strengthen our supply chains.”

“Given that the EU and India represent the second and fourth largest economies globally, the potential for expanding bilateral trade relations is significant,” Delhpin said on October 5.

India and the EU held the 13th round of trade negotiations in New Delhi between September 8 and 12. The talks failed to make a breakthrough in sensitive areas such as agriculture products and automobiles, where the EU is seeking greater market access in India.

India is seeking relaxations in the carbon tax to be imposed by the EU on imports of steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers from January. New Delhi is also seeking duty free access to its labour-intensive exports and emerging sectors like auto and electronics.

The EU market accounts for about 17 percent of India's total exports, while the 27-country bloc's exports to India constitute 9 percent of its total overseas shipments.

India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was $136.53 billion in 2024-25 —exports worth $75.85 billion and imports worth $60.68 billion — making it the largest trading partner.

The bilateral trade in services was estimated at $51.45 billion in 2023.