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India-EU trade talks to gain momentum with Goyal visit in Brussels
Jan-05-2026

To accelerate the process, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is all set to visit Brussels this week for talks with his EU counterpart on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which has entered its final negotiation phase. The two-day visit is scheduled for January 8, 2026- January 9, 2026. During the visit, Goyal will meet the Executive Vice-President and European Commissioner for Trade of the European Union, Maros Sefcovic. 

On January 7, 2026, the minister will first visit Liechtenstein to hold talks on ways to boost trade and investments between the two countries. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Goyal's Brussels visit comes at a crucial stage in the ongoing India-EU FTA negotiations, as both sides intensify efforts to conclude a comprehensive, balanced, and mutually beneficial trade agreement at the earliest. 

The 16th round of India-EU FTA negotiations, held from December 3, 2025 to December 9, 2025, covered critical chapters such as goods, services, investment, rules of origin, and technical barriers to trade. India and EFTA implemented a free trade agreement on October 1, 2025. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. India and the EU resumed FTA negotiations in June 2022 after a gap of over eight years. The talks were stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets.

India bilateral merchandise trade with the European Union (EU) stood at $136.53 billion in 2024-25, with exports worth $75.85 billion and imports of $60.68 billion, making it the largest trading partner for goods. The EU market accounts for about 17 per cent of India's total exports, and the bloc's exports to India constitute 9 per cent of its total overseas shipments. Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles and medical devices, the EU wants tax reduction in products like wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime. 

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