India and the European Union (EU) will begin the next round of negotiations for their free trade agreement (FTA) on Monday, aiming to conclude an interim agreement as early as possible.
This follows the announcement last week by the Prime Ministers of India and the UK, who confirmed the conclusion of key elements of the India-UK FTA.
New Delhi and Brussels have agreed to complete the FTA in two stages, with the first phase of the deal expected to be finalised well before the year-end deadline, according to an official.
The deadline for the second and final round will remain the year-end. Buoyed by the completion of negotiations on the full-scale FTA with the UK, India wants to sew up as many trade deals as possible this year. The global uncertainty caused by Trump-era tariffs is also driving the EU and India to complete the deal. The upcoming round of talks, which will be the 11th, will continue until May 16.
The negotiations in tranches will allow faster implementation of trade liberalisation in areas where there are least differences. More contentious issues can be taken up in later phases.
To accelerate the process, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had visited Brussels in the first week of this month where he met his counterpart Maros Sefcovic, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security of the European Commission. The discussions focused on expanding market access and reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
India is also in talks with the US for the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA).
Story continues below this ad
A similar strategy has been applied with Australia where both sides promptly concluded an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) in 2022. Negotiations are underway to expand this into a broader trade agreement and sign the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). FE