EU-India agreement

On 17 June 2022, the European Union relaunched negotiations with India for a Free Trade Agreement, and launched separate negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs).

The EU is India's third largest trading partner, accounting for €88 billion worth of trade in goods in 2021 or 10.8% of total Indian trade. India is the EU’s 10th largest trading partner, accounting for 2.1% of EU total trade in goods. Trade in services between the EU and India reached €30.4 billion in 2020.

The trade negotiations aim to:

• Remove barriers and helping EU firms – especially smaller ones – to export more;
• Open up services and public procurement markets;
• Ensure protection of geographical indications;
• Pursue ambitious commitments on trade and sustainable development, and;
• Make sure the agreed rules are enforceable.

The investment protection negotiations aim to provide investors from both sides with a predictable and secure investment environment, through commitments on:

• Non-discrimination;
• Protection against expropriation without compensation and unfair treatment of investors and their investments, while preserving the right to regulate, and;
• Transfer of returns.

The investment protection negotiations also seek to put in place an effective and state-of-the-art dispute settlement mechanism to enforce such rules.