India, EU 'very close' on FTA: Commerce Secretary

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) India and the EU are "very close" to concluding negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), with discussions underway to resolve remaining issues so that the deal is ready for announcement during the visit of top leadership later this month, a top official said on Thursday.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrwal said sensitive agriculture issues have been kept out of the prospective India-EU trade pact.

"I am happy to report that we are very close now. We have closed 20 out of 24 chapters completely. There are few issues on which negotiations are on. We are virtually engaged and we are trying to see if can we meet the timeline before our leaders meet," he told reporters here.

The issues which need resolution include the EU's carbon tax.

President of the European Council Antonio Luis Santos da Costa and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will be on a state visit to India from January 25-27. They are chief guests at the 77th Republic Day celebrations.

During the visit, the leaders will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27.

The announcement of the conclusion of negotiations for the agreement could be made during the summit and signing could happen at a later agreed date.

"That will be a good occasion (to announce the conclusion of talks). We are making the right endeavour," Agrawal said.

To give an impetus to negotiations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal visited Brussels for a meeting with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on January 8-9.

Prior to his visit, high-level discussions between Agrawal and Weyand were held on January 6-7 on the trade deal.

India is pushing for zero-duty access for its labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles and leather. On the other hand, the EU is demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, medical devices, wine, spirits, meat, poultry, and a strong intellectual property regime.

In June 2022, India and the EU bloc resumed negotiations for a comprehensive FTA, an investment protection agreement and a pact on geographical indications after a gap of over nine years. Talks were stalled in 2013 due to differences on the level of opening up markets.

India's bilateral trade in goods with the EU was USD 136.53 billion in 2024-25 (exports worth USD 75.85 billion and imports worth USD 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.

The India-EU trade pact negotiations cover chapters, such as trade in goods, services, investment, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, competition, government procurement, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, geographical indications, and sustainable development. PTI RR TRB