Monday, October 13, 2025

India-EU FTA talks set for September; discussions on with Japan, Korea for rare earth technologies

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India and the European Union (EU) are slated to hold the next round of negotiations for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in September in New Delhi, with both sides having exchanged offers related to their services sectors last week during the 12th round of negotiations, which concluded in Brussels. Both sides have also learnt to discuss key interest areas in the domain of market access for goods.Last month, government sources had told CNBC-TV18 that extra sessions were being held in the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, with the frequency of meetings having increased from quarterly to monthly. Earlier, CNBC-TV18 had reported that India and the EU look to conclude talks for an early harvest deal by July 2025, like the one it has signed with Australia.

The early harvest deal will include issues like tariffs and non-tariff barriers, intellectual property rights, government procurement, technical barriers to trade, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. India and the EU are pursuing a two-stage approach to finalise an FTA, apart from a bilateral investment protection agreement and recognition of geographical indications (GIs) with the 27-member bloc.

Also Read: India-US mini trade deal may be finalised within 48 hoursGovernment sources pointed out that five more chapters of the total 23 chapters have been closed in the previous round. The negotiations span 23 policy areas, including trade in goods and services, investment protection, customs procedures, technical barriers, intellectual property rights, and sustainable development.Stating that even European businesses have objected to proposed regulations like the EUDR and CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) over concerns of business being impacted, sources said that India’s concerns on these regulations have also been communicated as part of negotiations.

As per a government official, the EU has objected to Quality Control Orders (QCOs) by terming them non-tariff barriers (NTBs), to which India has responded by saying that QCOs equally apply to Indian businesses, unlike the EU’s internal concessions for its Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).In return, India has offered that mutual recognition can be given by both sides in areas like Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. The government official added that good relations with the EU are reflected in the ongoing strategic dialogue, with the 27-member bloc displaying sensitivity to India’s flagged concerns.Also Read: Not in a position to ‘guesstimate’ tariffs, any backup plan to be based on how things proceed: SourcesLast month, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had met the EU’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen, and Ministers from EU member countries France, Italy, and Sweden to provide a significant impetus to ongoing FTA negotiations.While the EU has sought amendments in India’s Patents Act to allow ‘evergreening’ of patents in pharmaceuticals, India has already refused to accept similar demands from the UK and Switzerland for data exclusivity to protect the generic pharma industry as part of FTAs with the UK and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).In FY 2023-24, EU-India bilateral goods trade stood at $137.41 billion, with Indian exports valued at $75.92 billion and imports valued at $61.48 billion, making the EU India’s largest trading partner in goods. The EU accounts for nearly 17% of India’s total exports, while the EU’s exports to India represent 9% of its total overseas sales.While India is discussing the possibility of inclusion of rare earth resources in FTAs with Chile and Peru to ensure dependency isn’t limited to a few countries, it is exploring possibilities with Japan and South Korea to access processing technologies for rare earths as part of a strategy to diversify value chains for rare earths by increasing local sourcing and processing.Also Read: India, US advancing trade deal talks with mutual cooperation, says Piyush Goyal

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