India-European Union Trade Deal At "Advanced Stage", Pact With US In Talks: Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the European Union have reached an advanced stage and that both the parties are making significant progress.

"We have reached a very advanced stage in our FTA with the European Union. The Commerce Secretary, as we speak, is in a meeting in Brussels with his counterpart, the DG of the EU. Their team is coming down later this week and will be in active negotiation with us. Minister trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic (European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security) is coming down on the 12th of this month and we are making very active and significant progress", Mr Goyal said.

It is expected that the FTA will conclude by the end of this year. Last month, India said that both the countries engaged in a forward-looking and substantive dialogue addressing global trade challenges to reaffirm their resolve to finalise the India-European Union FTA by the end of 2025.

The European Union (EU) is one of the world's largest trading blocs and the FTA is a significant step to strengthen economic ties on both sides. The agreement will reduce trade barriers, enhance market access, and create new opportunities for businesses.

The EU was the largest trading partner of India for goods with the trade being USD 137.41 billion in 2023-24. The bilateral trade between the two sides in services was estimated at USD 51.45 billion in 2023.

He also clarified that India is in a dialogue with the US for a bilateral trade agreement at the 20th Global Sustainability Summit.

With reference to the FTA between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, he said that the parties will start negotiating over it, as the Terms of Reference (ToR) have been finalised.

"In terms of the Eurasian FTA, we are finalising the terms of reference. Now we'll set up the next step and dates and start discussing," he said.

India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU,) comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation, signed the Terms of Reference (ToR) to launch negotiations on a FTA on August 20 in Moscow. 

During the meeting in Moscow, both sides noted the growing trade turnover between India and the EAEU, which stood at USD 69 billion in 2024, registering a 7 per cent increase over 2023.