India, EU narrow down differences in FTA talks; ‘difficult’ issues like carbon tax being discussed

With 14 rounds of negotiations already held between India and the European Union (EU) for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Commerce Ministry has said that both the sides are narrowing down their differences while they remain virtually engaged in talks and aim to take meetings as close to the completion of talks as possible.

Stating that the most difficult issues are on the table, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) or Carbon Tax, the Commerce Ministry said that the decision to drop any chapters in interest of the agreement will be taken either by the Chief Negotiators or Ministers on both the sides. The Ministry described tariffs and FTAs as complementary to each other, leading to more engagement between all countries.

Last week, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had held discussions with EU’s Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič in New Delhi with an aim to provide strategic guidance to their negotiating teams as both sides work towards concluding an FTA at the earliest.

The visit took place against the backdrop of the technical discussions held between Dec 3-9 in New Delhi across key chapters of the proposed FTA covering Market Access for Goods, Rules of Origin, Services, Technical Barriers to Trade, Trade and Sustainable Development etc.

Other FTA negotiations

India is midst of multiple FTA negotiations, and the Commerce Ministry is hopeful of many FTAs being signed this month as well as in 2026. Expressing hopes for signing of the India-Oman FTA in a few days, the Commerce Ministry said that India and Australia are slated to hold 12th round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in January 2026.

The 2nd round of negotiations between India and Russia-led EAEU bloc are proposed in February 2026.

With leadership from over 200 Russian companies having recently come to India along with President Putin, the Commerce Ministry said that the message was positive to the industry to facilitate more exports from India to Russia. Stating that the listing of dairy and marine units has given a nudge to increase imports from India, the Ministry noted opportunities in increasing exports of pharmaceuticals and auto components to Russia.