New Delhi [India], January 27 (ANI): Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which was finalized on Tuesday, will open massive opportunities and while European Union has opened up many new sectors, India will open its doors for greater import of auto components, automobiles, wines, spirits and some other areas.
Piyush Goyal, who addressed a joint press conference, said both sides have ensured that sensitive items are kept out of the ambit or given a sufficient transition period for adjustment of the industry and economic cycles.
He said the India-EU FTA is “our eighth free trade agreement” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said the agreement covers almost 99% of the total exports that are sent from India to the European Union.
“Every agreement stands on its own legs, and this is a wonderful agreement. It will be taken up on legal scrubbing on a fast-track basis, as we discussed today, and translated into 24 languages simultaneously. We do hope that we should be able to celebrate the entry into force of this agreement within calendar 2026,” he said, answering a query.
“This agreement covers almost 99% of the total exports that are sent from India to the European Union and about 97% plus of the total exports from the European Union to India. Something which is unprecedented and reflects the strength and the depth of this agreement. We have tried to address the asymmetry in economic development between the two nations with different per capita incomes, with transitional periods, but ultimately focusing on the complementary strengths of both economies,” he added.
Goyal said collectively, the European Union imports nearly USD 6.5 trillion worth of goods and nearly USD 3 trillion worth of services and India plays a very small role in that.
“Our total exports are currently just about 1.5% of the goods imported into Europe and barely 2.5% of the services imported into Europe. With this massive opening up of opportunities, the European Union has also opened up many new sectors. India has opened up many new sectors in the services space. We can see a big thrust to the services sector. As I said, on marine products, almost 94 % of the tariff lines and almost the entire value of goods that are exported are going to get duty-free access,” he said.
“Areas like textiles, apparel, home decor, furnishing, where India has very serious labour-intensive interests, 100% of the European market will be open for business from day one. Whether it’s furniture and lighting or other consumable goods, almost all of our exports are going to get duty-free access from day one. Likewise, for toys, for sports goods, for railway components, aircraft parts, also in leather and footwear, these are areas which are of significant interest to India. Similarly, India will open its doors for greater import of auto components, automobiles, wines, spirits and other areas of interest to the European Union, with both sides having ensured that sensitive items are kept out of the ambit or given sufficient transition period for adjustment of the industry and economic cycles,” he added.
Goyal lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and said they have provided visionary leadership “which has further been strengthened with colleagues from almost all parts of government in both the European Union and India”.
“Everybody playing their role to prepare the roadmap and lay the foundation for a very powerful economic, geopolitical, and strategic partnership of the 21st century,” he said.
“We are also very pleased to have concluded negotiations. As Ursula von der Leyen has articulated, ‘the mother of all deals’, a free trade agreement which covers 25% of global trade. It is our eighth free trade agreement under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Each and every one of them with developed nations and collectively reflecting an agreement between India and 37 developed nations. 37 developed nations and India have entered into free trade agreements in a short span of four years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.
Referring to the auto sector, he said Indian industry is very happy that government has protected their areas of interest in the smaller and low-cost automobile sector.
“We in India produce largely automobiles which are smaller in size and lower in cost. So we’ve been able to come to a very amicable understanding where the auto industry in Germany is very happy, getting greater access in a phased manner in areas of their interest, while the Indian industry is very happy that we’ve been able to protect their areas of interest in the smaller and low-cost automobile sector,” he said.
“This is the story that’s been repeated in sector after sector. I believe we are offering today to the world an agreement which is unprecedented in scale, in terms of market access. It will support Make in India and support industry in the European Union. It opens up plethora of opportunities for investments on both sides. We have seen large investments flow from Europe to India, which can now grow manifold… Europe is a $20 trillion plus economy. India, being the fastest-growing large economy, will become a $30 trillion plus economy by 2047 and catch up very rapidly with the developed world. Together, we will work for the shared prosperity and a better future for 2 billion people in Europe and India,” he added.
Goyal said the breakthrough in the EU-India trade relations comes after 20 years, noting that discussions were launched in 2006.
“Sixteen rounds of negotiations were held. Sadly, in 2013, efforts were aborted, and almost nobody ever imagined the European Union and India being able to come up with such a robust partnership framework as has been finalised by our leaders today. In fact, when we relaunched negotiations in mid-2022 and laid the initial foundational work, prepared our game plan, and way forward. We had elections in India and then in the European Union through 2024. So the heavy lifting for this FTA really started after the historic visit of the European Union trade commissioners led by Ursula von der Leyen in February 2025,” he said.
“Therefore coming up is a very balanced, equitable, and fair free trade agreement, which is a win-win for all sections of industry, both in India and European Union, opening up plethora of opportunities for investment, opening up markets which are complementary, with India gaining access significantly in labour-intensive industries like marine products, chemicals, footwear and leather, plastic rubber goods, textiles, apparel and clothing, gems and jewelry, furniture, sports goods, toys, and the European Union industries gaining access to the large and fastest growing economy of India in innovation, technology, sectors of precision engineering, and areas where India continues to look for partnerships and technologies from across the world,” he added. (ANI)
