New Delhi: The Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the ambitious India-EU free trade agreement is likely to be implemented within the 2026 calendar year, hours after the announcement of the conclusion of negotiations for the historic trade pact.
Earlier in the day, India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) concluded talks for the agreement, which is being described as 'mother of all deals'. Once implemented, 93 per cent of Indian shipments will enjoy duty-free access to the European Union, while the import of luxury cars and wines from there will become less expensive in India.
"Every agreement stands on its own legs, and this is a wonderful agreement. It'll be taken up for a legal scrubbing on a fast track basis...We do hope that we should be able to celebrate the entry into force of this agreement within calendar 2026 itself," Goyal said while responding to a question at a special briefing on the state visit of the President of the EU Council and the President of the EU Commission to India.
The deal, Goyal said, has been concluded after negotiations spanning over two decades.
He said the pact will create a market of about 2 billion people across the world's fourth-largest economy, India, and the second-largest economic bloc, the EU.
Taken together, India and the EU account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third (about USD 11 trillion) of the international trade (about USD 33 trillion).
The minister further said that the European Union and India, leaving the sensitive issues aside, have come up with a "balanced, equitable, and fair" free trade agreement, which is a win-win for all sections of industry, both in India and the European Union.
Goyal said it will open up a plethora of opportunities for investment.
The EU has become India's 22nd FTA partner.
The NDA government, since 2014, has signed trade deals with Mauritius, the UAE, the UK, EFTA, Oman and Australia, and announced trade deals with New Zealand. In 2025, India signed a trade deal with Oman and the UK and announced the conclusion of a trade deal with New Zealand.
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