The negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) made substantial progress in the latest round that concluded last week with both sides exchanging their offers on goods and services trade.
“We have exchanged our offers on services and non-services…there were discussions on that. We also discussed key interests in market access related to goods as well,” special secretary in the department of commerce L Satya Srinivas said..
Srinivas is leading the Indian team in India EU negotiations. Last week, the 12th round of negotiations were held in Brussels. The 13th round will be held in New Delhi in the first week of September, he said.
In an FTA “exchange of offers” refers to the process where participating countries or blocs present their proposed reductions or eliminations of trade barriers, such as tariffs and non-tariff measures, on goods and services. These offers are the initial proposals made by each side, outlining what they are willing to give and what they expect in return to facilitate trade. These offers are then made base for further negotiations.
The EU is an important trade partner of India with exports of $ 75.7 billion in 2024-25 and imports of $ 60.6 billion. Both sides are chasing the 2025-end deadline to conclude the FTA. In between both sides are also engaged intensively virtually and in person on a large range of topics.
India and the EU have been negotiating the FTA since 2022. In May the FTA with the UK was concluded and last year a similar pact with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was signed. With the EU trade deal India would have secured preferential access to its exports to the whole of Europe.
The India-EU FTA covers 23 policy areas or chapters, including Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade Remedies, Rules of Origin, Customs and Trade Facilitation, Competition, Trade Defence, Government Procurement, Dispute Settlement, Intellectual Property Rights, Geographical Indications, and Sustainable Development.