India

India is amongst the world’s fastest-growing large economies and is an important player in global economic governance. India is already an important trade and investment partner for the EU and could hold significant further potential. It represents a sizable and dynamic market, with an annual projected GDP growth rate of over 6% according to the IMF, making it one of the fastest-growing emerging economies in the G20.

Trade picture

• The EU is India’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for trade in goods worth €120 billion in 2024, or 11.5% of India's total trade. India is the EU’s 9^th largest trading partner, accounting for 2.4% of the EU’s total trade in goods in 2024, well behind the USA (17.3%), China (14.6%) or the UK (10.1%). Trade in goods between the EU and India has increased by almost 90% in the last decade.
• The EU’s imports from India comprise mainly of machinery and appliances, chemicals, base metals, mineral products, and textiles. India's main exports to the EU consisted of machinery and appliances, transport equipment, and chemicals.
• Trade in services amounted to €59.7 billion in 2023 (with a deficit for the EU of €7.9 billion).
• The EU’s share of foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in India reached €140.1 billion in 2023, up from €82.3 billion in 2019, making the EU a leading foreign investor in India. The stock of India’s FDI in the EU was €10.2 billion.
• Some 6,000 European companies are present in India.

The EU and India

A key EU objective in its trade relations with India is to work towards a sound, transparent, open, non-discriminatory and predictable regulatory and business environment for European companies trading with or investing in India, including the protection of their investments and intellectual property. The aim is to contribute to unlocking the untapped potential of two-way trade and investment between the EU and India.

Currently, India’s trade regime and regulatory environment remains relatively restrictive. Technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures, deviation from internationally-agreed standards, as well as discrimination based on legislative or administrative measures by India, affect a wide range of sectors, including goods, services, public procurement and investment.

The EU uses all available channels and fora to work with India to ensure fair market access and predictable investment conditions, as well as to promote the full respect by both sides of their multilateral obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Key instruments in this respect are the EU-India High-Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment established in 2021 by a decision of the July 2020 EU-India Summit, as well as the EU-India Trade Sub-Commission established under the 1994 Cooperation and Partnership Agreement between the EU and India, and its specialised working groups and dialogues.

For more information

• Joint statements adopted on the occasion of the College visit to India on 28 February 2025

EU-India trade negotiations

On 8 May 2021, the EU and Indian leaders’ agreed to resume negotiations for a "balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial" trade agreement, and to launch separate negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications (GIs). Leaders also agreed to link trade negotiations to finding “solutions to long-standing market access issues".

Both sides are now engaged in bilateral negotiations on trade, investment protection and geographical indications. A Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) is being conducted to examine the potential impacts of the future agreements.

On 28 February 2025, following the visit of the College of European Commissioners to India, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly agreed that both sides should seek to conclude negotiations in the course of 2025.  

All EU text proposals and reports of the negotiation rounds can be found here. 

Trading with India

• Importing into the EU from India
  • EU trade defence measures on imports from India
• Exporting from the EU to India
  • Trade defence measures in force in India
• Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with India
• India is a member of the World Trade Organization