India, EU expedite FTA talks amid Trump tariff disruptions, European team in New Delhi this week

Two top negotiators of the European Union are heading to India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the EU aim to expedite talks on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) amid the looming tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on India. According to The Indian Express, European Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovic, and Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, will be arriving in Delhi this week to hold negotiations with India.

Both the European delegation visited the country in February this year when the College of Commissioners travelled to India. It is pertinent to note that the two commissioners of the EU are equivalent to the Cabinet Ministers. They will be leading a 30-member negotiating team from Brussels and will meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

According to The Indian Express, the visit is aimed at expediting the negotiations to seal the final deal. The talks between the two parties have gained significant momentum in light of the tariff mayhem unleashed by the US President Donald Trump’s administration. The upcoming round of talks is also coming at a time when the EU-US deal has already been announced.

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In the trade deal signed between the EU and the US, the former has indicated flexibilities for the US on the contentious Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Hence, officials in the Commerce and Industry Ministry said that Delhi will now push for similar concessions since the EU had earlier taken a rigid approach on CBAM in negotiations with India.

While the EU delegation has maintained that the CBAM regulation is not part of the India-EU FTA, negotiations over it are crucial as the Indian industry has begun facing the impact of the regulation that is to come into effect on January 1, 2026.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a phone call and discussed “early conclusion of the India-EU FTA”. Sources close to the matter told The Indian Express that the two sides have to negotiate about 26 or 27 chapters in all – each of them tackling different issues and themes – as part of the trade agreement. Out of these 27 chapters, both sides concluded negotiations on 11 of them.

Hence, it will be interesting to see the outcome of the latest visit by the EU delegation.