India-EU Trade Talks: Goyal to Visit Brussels

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Brussels later this month to give an impetus to the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and the EU, an official said on Saturday.

The minister will be in Europe to participate in the Berlin Global Dialogue, that will be held from October 23 to October 25, the official said.

After that, trade talks with the EU will be held in Brussels. He will meet EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

Goyal's visit follows the conclusion of the 14th round of talks between the two sides from October 6 to October 10.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has also held talks with European Commission (EC) Director General for Trade (DG-Trade) Sabine Weyand in Brussels.

Engagements between the two sides have increased as they have decided to conclude the negotiations by December.

After his visit to Europe, Goyal will visit New Zealand. Both countries launched negotiations on a free trade agreement in March and have held three rounds of talks on it.

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 eight years. It was 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.