India-EU FTA: 'Balance over speed' guides talks as New Delhi maintains dairy, agri red lines

European commissioner for trade and economic security Maroš Šefčovič with commerce minister Piyush Goyal

India is giving the negotiations for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union its utmost priority, while maintaining that any concessions on agriculture and dairy are unlikely, Moneycontrol learnt from one government official, as representative from Brussels continued to engage with New Delhi to finalise the finer details during the 13th round of talks this week at Vanijya Bhawan, in the heart of the Indian capital.

The timing of the negotiations is crucial as India looks at urgently tapping a wider global market. "New Delhi looks to broker a balanced free trade agreement (FTA) with the 27-nation bloc", said one government source, requesting anonymity.

Sources said that even while concluding the FTA with the EU is of utmost priority for the government, sweeping concessions on agriculture and dairy are unlikely.

“Agriculture and dairy will be protected. One always wants to wrap up a trade deal soon, but our view is we want a good deal, we are not working on speed,” said the source.

This is in line with India's stance of keeping dairy and key farm products out of trade deals with trading partners. Recent agreements with Switzerland, Norway, Australia and the United Kingdom too have excluded the dairy sector and crucial farm products.

The bloc’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič will join the negotiations between India and the EU from September 12, the source said. India’s largest trading partner has been in discussions in New Delhi from September 8, and talks are likely to continue till September 13.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had on September 9 said that the negotiations between India and the EU for the proposed deal are progressing well, with more than half of the chapters already concluded.

“I think the chief negotiators are working to converge on different parts of the agreement. Almost 60 to 65 percent of the chapters are completed and finalised,” Goyal told news agency ANI.

In February 2025, India and the EU decided to ramp up talks for the proposed free trade agreement, targeting to close it by the end of 2025 to tide over ongoing disruptions from volatile trade policies.

The 12th round of EU-India FTA negotiations took place in Brussels between July 7 and 11, when both sides reached an in-principle agreement on Digital Trade chapter and Anti-Fraud clause, pending some technical consultations.

The talks have come at a time when the United States has imposed a 50 percent tariff on most Indian goods, while lowering duties on nearly all exports from the EU to 15 percent after both sides reached an agreement.

India and the US remain engaged to conclude the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement by November of this year, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on September 11.

The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for 12.2 percent of its trade, ahead of the US (10.8 percent) and China (10.5 percent). The 27-nation bloc is the second-largest destination for Indian exports after the United States.

India is EU’s ninth-largest trading partner, accounting for 2.2 percent of its total trade in goods in 2023, well behind the US, China and the UK.