India-EU trade pact to be signed by Dec; implemented from Feb-March next year

NEW DELHI, June 21: India and the 27-nation European Union will sign the free trade agreement by December and are likely to implement the pact during February- March next year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday.
On January 27 this year, India and the EU announced the conclusion of negotiations for the ‘mother of all deals’.
“Now, with almost zero duty, almost the entire European market will be open for us. The EU’s FTA (free trade agreement) will be signed by December and will be effective by February-March,” Goyal said during an interaction with chartered accountants in Mumbai.
He also said that his US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, is coming to India this week to hold trade pact talks with him.
“The whole world is looking towards India,” he added.
Under the India-EU FTA, about 93 per cent of Indian shipments will enjoy duty-free access to the 27-nation bloc, while imports of luxury cars and wines from the EU will become less expensive.
Taken together, India and the EU account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third (about USD 11 trillion) of international trade (about USD 33 trillion).
Later, he told reporters that during the G7 Summit in France, the Canadian Prime Minister expressed a desire to conclude the proposed free trade agreement with India this year.
The two sides held the second round of negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May.
Upgrade product standards to take full advantage of FTA with UK: Experts to exporters
Indian exporters will have to upgrade product standards and align their goods with British regulatory requirements to take full advantage of the India-UK free trade agreement, which will come into effect from July 15, according to experts.
They also said that the government should conduct an outreach programme in different parts of India to inform the domestic industry about the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two countries.
The UK’s Department for Business and Trade has already launched a nationwide free trade agreement roadshow this week across six cities to prepare British businesses for the agreement’s entry into force.
“A comparable effort is needed on the Indian side, with CETA-specific outreach export-readiness programmes in manufacturing clusters across the country that can help businesses convert the agreement’s potential into actual commercial activity,” law firm SAM & Co Partner Rudra Kumar Pandey said.
He added that Indian exporters will need to upgrade product standards and align with UK regulatory requirements to become reliable supply chain partners, not just one-off suppliers.
Pandey said that early finalisation of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between India and the UK is also important to give investors confidence in binding legal protection, which is a prerequisite for capital-intensive and long-horizon commitments.
The projected gains from the Indian-UK FTA are significant and go beyond just trade facilitation to integrating the supply chains of the country in the longer run.
“Realising this will require focused effort on implementation, both at the structural level and in execution,” he said.
Gulzar Didwania, Partner, Deloitte India, said that for investors, the agreement is expected to catalyse a new generation of two-way capital flows across advanced manufacturing, electric vehicles and EV components, fintech, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, clean energy and green hydrogen, and high-value services.
For the UK, India offers scale, manufacturing depth and an increasingly mature regulatory architecture. On the other hand, for India, the UK offers a gateway into European and global markets, a deep services economy and access to advanced technology and R&D ecosystems, he said.
The tariff reductions, Didwania said, are commercially material for India’s manufacturing competitiveness.
UK duties of up to 12 per cent on textiles and clothing, up to 16 per cent on leather and footwear, up to 18 per cent on engineering goods and auto components, and up to 70 per cent on processed foods will be eliminated under the agreement, a step-change that places Indian exporters on a level commercial footing with competitors, he said.
“India’s leather and footwear exports to the UK alone are projected to nearly double from about USD 494 million in 2024 to USD 1 billion within three years, while India’s textile sector, currently the UK’s fourth-largest supplier with a 6.1 per cent market share, is positioned to materially expand its presence in a high-value consumer market,” Didwania added.
International trade expert and Hi-Tech Gears Chairman Deep Kapuria said while the pact will provide greater market access to all labour-intensive exports from India, the biggest achievement is the social security agreement.
“The UK is one of the preferred locations for Indian knowledge workers as both students and professionals from India have been the major beneficiaries of work and study visas,” he said.
Kapuria added that the UK is also an important source of FDI into India. (PTI)