India-EU Free Trade Agreement: The proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU), a group of 27 countries, is now in the final stages and is being described as the most important trade agreement so far. According to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the formal announcement of completion of negotiations on this agreement can be made on January 27.

Top EU leadership – European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit India from January 25 to 27 and will be the chief guests of the 77th Republic Day celebrations.

India-EU are not competitors

Piyush Goyal said that India and EU complement each other, not competitors. India has got better terms in areas of its interests and the EU has also been given opportunities in its priority areas. After 2014, India has signed trade agreements with many countries, but this agreement with EU will be the biggest and most important because it includes developed countries like France, Germany, Italy and Netherlands.

India-EU trade in goods and services is balanced and this agreement will open up huge growth opportunities for both sides. However, negotiations are still ongoing on some issues like the EU’s carbon tax. The minister made it clear that there will be no compromise with national interests.

At present, EU’s share in India’s total exports is about 17 percent. On trade agreement with America, Goyal said that that too will happen at the right time.

trade agreements reached so far

The countries/blocs with which the NDA government has signed FTAs ​​or trade agreements since 2014 include:

Australia

Britain

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New Zealand

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

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In addition, agreements already in force include ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, SAFTA and Singapore. Compared to all these, the EU agreement is considered to be the largest and most influential.