India, EU Make Significant Progress in Trade Talks Amid UK Trade Deal

Strategic Insights -

India and the European Union have made significant progress in their trade talks, closing as many as five chapters, including the challenging area of intellectual property rights. The conclusion of the UK deal is an "important factor" in Delhi's trade negotiations with Brussels, with India giving market access to product categories where the EU and the UK are competitors. The talks have made progress on goods trade, services, and digital trade, but CBAM negotiations remain pending.

Key Takeaways:

  • India and the EU have closed five chapters in their trade talks, including intellectual property rights, transparency, good regulatory practices, customs and trade facilitation, and mutual administrative assistance provisions.
  • The EU report on the 11th round of talks said "good progress" was made in the trade in goods chapter, with negotiators discussing and making progress on tariff discussions on industrial products.
  • Talks on the agri-food sector continued, with the aim to enhance the level of clarity about both sides' positions, and negotiations on the 'Energy and Raw Materials' chapter were put aside for the time being.
  • The EU is seeking better access to India's wine and spirits market, in line with the access already granted to the UK.
  • EU officials believe that the trade deal with India hinges on Delhi's commitment to lowering duties on cars, amid an ongoing crisis in the European automobile sector.
  • India's metal exports to the EU continue to face restrictions, with the EU slashing India's quota for hot-rolled coil by 23.7 per cent in April to June.
  • Data showed that steel and aluminium shipments to the EU dropped by 24.4 per cent from $7.71 billion to $5.82 billion in FY25 compared to the previous financial year.
  • A former trade official, Ajay Srivastava, said that a fair FTA must remove discriminatory quotas, secure CBAM carve-outs or compensation, and preserve India's policy space to grow its industrial base.
  • Negotiators discussed and made "substantial progress" in agreeing on the services text, as well as planning for an initial exchange of offers on services.
  • Detailed text-based discussions were held on the liberalisation of investment in areas beyond services.
  • Substantive progress was made on digital trade, particularly on digital trade facilitation provisions such as e-invoicing, e-authentication, e-contracts, paperless trade, online consumer protection, spam, digital identities, and open government data.

Statistics:

  • Five chapters in India-EU trade talks have been closed.
  • Good progress was made in the trade in goods chapter.
  • Tariff discussions on industrial products made significant progress.
  • EU slashing India's quota for hot-rolled coil by 23.7 per cent in April to June.
  • Steel and aluminium shipments to the EU dropped by 24.4 per cent from $7.71 billion to $5.82 billion in FY25 compared to the previous financial year.
  • India has given market access to spirits, medical equipment, and cars.

Sources:

  • The Indian Express (P) Ltd Copyright 2025 IE Online Media Services Pvt. Ltd., distributed by Contify.com.