EU delegation to meet Piyush Goyal today: Key sticking points
08 Dec 2025

A European Union (EU) delegation will meet Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal today to discuss the status of their proposed free trade agreement (FTA).

The meeting is crucial as both sides are keen to finalize the talks by year-end.

The delegation, led by EU's Directorate-General for Trade Sabine Weyand, hopes to resolve differences over goods and services during this visit.

Outstanding issues in India-EU FTA negotiations
Sticking points

The ongoing FTA talks have hit a few roadblocks, particularly over steel tariffs, carbon taxes, automobiles, and non-tariff barriers. These are some of the key areas that need to be resolved for an agreement.

The discussions also include an investment protection agreement and a geographical indications pact.

Notably, these talks were stalled in 2013 due to market access disagreements.

India's trade with the EU and FTA impact
Trade dynamics

India's goods trade with the EU was $136.53 billion in 2024-25, making it India's largest trading partner for goods.

The EU accounts for some 17% of India's total exports while its exports to India make up 9% of total shipments.

If the FTA is finalized, Indian exports to the EU like textiles, pharma products, steel etc., could become more competitive due to reduced tariffs and improved market access.

EU's demands in the FTA negotiations
Tariff reductions

The EU has sought major tariff cuts on automobiles and medical devices, along with tax reductions on other products such as wine, spirits, meat, poultry.

It also wants a strong intellectual property regime to protect innovations.

The India-EU trade pact talks cover 23 policy areas including trade in goods/services, investment rules of origin/customs/trade facilitation government procurement dispute settlement intellectual property rights geographical indications.