By Amiti Sen

Copyright thehindubusinessline

The EU is still ready to conclude on a mutually beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) with India, with negotiating teams working hard to meet the year-end deadline, despite the previous month’s negotiating round not resulting in a “breakthrough”, EU Ambassador to India Hervé Delphin has said.

In an indirect reference to the US which has imposed tariffs on most of its trade partners, including the EU and India, Delphin said the FTA should be used by the two sides to diversify trade and strengthen supply chains.

“The FTA can open new opportunities for the EU and Indian businesses and create conditions to significantly increase our bilateral trade and investment. While some countries are raising tariffs or otherwise closing their markets, we should use the FTA to diversify trade, hedge against uncertainties and strengthen our supply chains,” Delphin said in his speech at the annual general meeting of the Federation of European Business in India (FEBI) on Saturday.

The 14th round of the India-EU FTA negotiations begins on October 6 and is crucial as progress made in this round could determine whether the year-end deadline set by EU President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be met.

It is fair to say the negotiations are challenging and important issues remain to be solved, Delphin conceded. “The 13th round earlier in September with the direct involvement of Commissioners Sefcovic and Hansen on the EU side did not result in the sort of breakthrough which was expected. The EU was and still is ready to conclude on a meaningful package. We look forward to the next round and further negotiations towards a mutually beneficial deal,” he said.

Areas that still need ironing out include duty cuts offered by India on certain items such as automobiles, liquor, agriculture items and dairy, quality controls imposed by India, the EU’s carbon tax (CBAM), treatment of intellectual property and the EU’s quality standards that impede Indian exports.

Citing a recent survey by FEBI on the role of EU businesses in India, the Ambassador pointed out that there are around 6,000 EU companies in India, creating over three million jobs, across various sectors including manufacturing, professional services or information and communication technology.

“But with an FTA, it could be much bigger. Eighty per cent of EU firms would scale up investment and jobs in India,” Delphin said.

The EU is India’s top trading partner, with bilateral trade in goods of €120 billion, ahead of the US and China. Adding services, our bilateral trade has reached €180 billion, the Ambassador noted. “This is an impressive figure, but there is a huge potential for growth considering that EU and India are the second and the fourth largest economies in the world. To unlock this untapped potential EU and India are negotiating the FTA,” he said.

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Published on October 4, 2025