India-EU free trade deal may take effect by early 2027, says Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India and the European Union (EU) are in the final stages of completing the legal review of their proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with the process expected to be finished in the next 15-20 days before the pact is sent for ratification by the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Goyal said the two sides are working to bring the agreement into force in the first quarter of 2027, which would provide Indian businesses with greater access to markets across the EU’s 27 member countries.

The minister said he recently discussed the progress of the agreement with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. Preparatory work is also underway for the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in Brussels on July 14-15, where India’s ministers for external affairs and electronics and information technology will participate alongside senior EU leaders.
Speaking ahead of his visit to Spain and Finland, Goyal said the government is also working with Indian business delegations to help companies prepare to tap new export opportunities. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visits to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, he said he expects trade with these FTA partner countries to increase.

He also said monthly investment data indicates that investment activity in India continues to improve.

Addressing the Council for Leather Exports National Export Excellence Awards for 2024-25 in New Delhi, Goyal said he expects India’s leather exports to more than triple from the current $4.5 billion to over $15 billion over the next five to seven years.

Calling leather-making a tradition dating back thousands of years to the Indus Valley civilisation, Goyal urged exporters to build Indian designer leather brands and expand their presence across the country’s FTA partner markets.

He said increasing employment in the leather sector from around 40 lakh people to one crore would help create economies of scale and improve India’s export competitiveness. Goyal also called for diversifying export markets, noting that 77% of India’s leather exports are currently concentrated in just 15 countries.

India currently has FTAs with around 50 countries, including Japan, South Korea and the ASEAN bloc. Goyal said the number could rise to more than 60 as India pursues trade agreements with Canada, the GCC, Mexico, MERCOSUR, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Israel, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Chile.