“Had a productive dialogue with EU Trade and Economic Security Commissioner, Mr. @MarosSefcovic, in Brussels.We made good progress and provided strategic guidance to our negotiating teams & reaffirmed our strong political resolve to deliver a fair, balanced, & ambitious agreement aligned with the economic priorities of both India and the EU,” Goyal said in a post on X Saturday.
Goyal was on a two-day official visit to the EU from January 8-9.
The talks are crucial as the two sides are looking at concluding the negotiations at the earliest. The India-EU Summit is expected on January 27 in Delhi and the top EU leadership will grace the Republic Day parade as the chief guest on January 26.
“Good progress made. Open issues narrowing. Full steam ahead in the coming days,” Sefcovic said in a post on X.
They have directed the officials to resolve pending issues and expedite the negotiations to finalise the proposed pact.
“Both leaders provided guidance to negotiating teams to resolve pending issues and expedite the agreement,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. The meetings focused on reviewing the progress achieved across various negotiating tracks including Market Access for Goods, Rules of Origin, and Services.
The ministerial engagement was preceded by high-level discussions between Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal and Director-General for Trade, European Commission Sabine Weyand, on January 6-7, 2026.
The officials worked to “narrow divergences” and ensure clarity on outstanding issues, clearing the path for the ministerial dialogue, it said. “The ministerial-level discussions reaffirmed the strong political resolve on either side to address pending issues through constructive engagement,” it said.
So far, 16 rounds of negotiations have been held.
New Delhi has sought zero-duty access for its labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles and leather, while the EU is demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, medical devices, wine, spirits, meat, poultry and a strong intellectual property regime.
The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover 23 policy areas or chapters, including trade in goods, services, investment, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, government procurement, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, geographical indications and sustainable development.
The India-EU trade in goods in 2024-25 amounted to $136.53 billion, making the EU the country’s largest trading partner for goods.