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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 

 

--Govt official: EU FTA legal scrub completed 

--Govt official: On track to sign EU FTA by 2026 end

 

NEW DELHI – India and the European Union are on track to sign the free trade agreement by the end of 2026, with two sides completing the legal scrubbing of the document, a senior commerce ministry official said Thursday. "The legal scrubbing is done. It has now gone for translation," the official said. 

 

The trade deal offers tariff concessions on over 95% of the value of exports for both sides. India and the EU have been engaged in legal scrubbing of the agreement for a while. With this deal, the two sides aim to double their bilateral trade by 2032. India-EU trade was worth nearly $139 billion in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), up 9.5%.  

 

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had said last month that the India-EU free trade deal is likely to take effect from the March quarter. 

 

A key bone of contention in finalising the India-EU free trade agreement has been the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Under the mechanism, which came into effect on Jan. 1, the EU will impose a carbon charge on imports of goods such as steel, aluminium, fertiliser and cement. The charge is currently applicable to steel and aluminium products.

 

Both sides have agreed to set up a technical group to help Indian industry access the EU market smoothly amid the carbon regulation. The commerce ministry held a technical session on Tuesday to sensitise exporters to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism framework, including calculating embedded emissions, data collection, and reporting requirements.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.71

 

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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