Both India and the EU are likely to announce a conclusion of trade talks on January 27.
Import duty cuts on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles and footwear, as well as cars, and wines, are likely to be part of the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation bloc European Union (EU), the conclusion of which is set to be announced on January 27 here, sources said.
In a veiled attack on US President Donald Trump, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson on Tuesday said India's free trade agreement with the European Union is a "perfect" answer to global hegemons that use tariffs and economic integration as tools of coercion.
European wines are set to enter the Indian market at lower prices under the bilateral free trade agreement as India will provide import duty concessions under the pact, an official said. Under the pact, the duty on EU wines would fall from 150 per cent to 20 per cent (for expensive ones).
From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics surged nearly 9 per cent post its December quarter earnings. Eternal, Bajaj Finance, Power Grid, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra and UltraTech Cement were the other major gainers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were among the other laggards.
Textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, engineering goods, gems and jewellery exports will receive a boost from the free trade agreement between India and the 27-nation European Union, according to exporters.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's remarks come ahead of a high-level summit where India and the European Union are expected to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement.
Exporters of gems and jewellery have said the free-trade agreement (FTA) has brought relief to their sector because this opens up the world's second-largest market and brings them on a par with China and Thailand, which face zero tariffs on shipments to Europe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a roundtable with AI startup CEOs and held bilateral meetings with global leaders at the India AI Impact Summit, focusing on AI's potential across sectors and international cooperation.
The proposed trade deal with the 27-nation European Union (EU) is expected to provide zero-duty access to the $95 billion European market for Indian textile and apparel manufacturers. Currently, India's share of the European market is just 6 per cent, or $5.5 billion.
The India-EU free trade deal could help Indian-made cars enter Europe at lower costs and challenge Chinese dominance.
India may adopt a "calibrated" and a "step-by-step" approach to easing norms on investments originating from China, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He was in a conversation with A K Bhattacharya on Day 1 of Business Standard's two-day annual event, Manthan 2026. The minister said foreign direct investment (FDI) from China was certainly not "banned", but it goes through an approval process. "The government's approach at the moment is to accelerate the approval process."
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher in highly volatile trade on Tuesday, buoyed by heavy buying in bank and metal stocks, a firm trend in global markets and optimism over India-EU FTA. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 319.78 points, or 0.39 per cent, to settle at 81,857.48.
Speculation about rising competition from global majors has led to shares of major Indian automobile manufacturers such as Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Maruti Suzuki India, and Tata Motors taking a hit on the BSE.
The European Union's (EU's) offer to slash tariffs on 97.5 per cent of Indian chemical exports to zero is set to give India's pharmaceutical and medical device firms preferential access to the European markets.
Among major engagements in 2026 is the visit of the European Union leadership, chief guests at the Republic Day parade.
Stock market is gearing up for an eventful week ahead where key triggers such as quarterly earnings from corporates, the US Fed interest rate decision and the upcoming Union Budget for 2026-27 would grab the limelight, analysts said.
India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced the conclusion and finalisation of negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA).
Maruti Suzuki will introduce eight SUVs over the next five years taking its overall model range to 28 as it aims to regain 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle segment, Suzuki Motor Corporation Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said on Wednesday.
India and the 27-nation European Union are negotiating Broad based Trade and Investment Agreement since June 2007, but a breakthrough has not yet been achieved due to strong differences on several of the issues.
Stating the volume of trade between India and Finland is "not big enough", Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb today said it would increase only after signing of the much-talked about free trade agreement between India and European Union.
Under the FTA in the Services sector, India wants the EU to ensure free mobility of professionals without restrictions such as experience whereas the EU wants greater commitment by India to allow foreign investment in services such as retail, legal and postal.
India may have to abide by a series of international standards and regulatory practices in the healthcare sector, if it agrees to some proposals that are part of the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
India's merchandise exports dipped marginally in March to $41.69 billion, and by 3.11 per cent during the last fiscal year to $437.06 billion mainly due to continued geopolitical turmoil, and depressed global trade. Imports, too, declined in March as well during the entire 2023-24. Trade deficit, or the gap between imports and exports, narrowed 17.74 per cent in March to $15.6 billion and came down 9.33 per cent to $240.17 billion in FY24.
So far 15 rounds of negotiations have been held.
During the talks, both sides failed to reach on a conclusion and has agreed to meet again in June.
Barring a few exceptions India has a chronic trade deficit with most of its existing FTA partners as it is with most of its proposed FTA partners.
Government feels that early conclusion of Idnia-EU trade pact will open up new economic opportunities.
A meeting to discuss what goods should be included in the negative list of items for India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, was held here recently.
Despite all official assurances, the path towards a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) this year remains ambiguous, as both sides are unwilling to relax their stand on the biggest stumbling block - the issue of "data exclusivity".
With the pressure on for the European Union (EU) and India to come up with a significant announcement at the upcoming EU-India summit on December 10, a flurry of activity surrounding the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) is giving momentum to the process.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for Germany on Wednesday on a three-day visit during which he will hold comprehensive talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on key bilateral, international and regional issues including India-EU FTA, Afghanistan and counter-terrorism.
More than Indian exporters, it is Indian business families based in Sri Lanka and Hong Kong which have exploited the Bangladesh advantage
Business reacted with caution to the reforms of 1991, and demanded protection from multinationals and imports. Twenty-five years later, traces of that demand can still be found, reports Bhupesh Bhandari.
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