Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal announced that the negotiations for India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union have been finalized, with the formal signing expected to occur after a legal review, a process anticipated to take approximately six months. He described the forthcoming agreement—as expected to be revealed tomorrow—as “balanced and forward-looking,” aimed at enhancing economic integration with the EU, and noted that it would greatly increase trade and investment between both parties.
Nonetheless, the deal will require time to take effect, given the lengthy procedures that follow its announcement. In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18’s Parikshit Luthra yesterday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič detailed the timeline for implementation. He indicated that the legal review would commence after the announcement of the conclusion of talks on January 27, after which the text would be translated into the EU’s 24 official languages. The agreement would then require ratification by the European Parliament before being formally signed by the trade ministers of both the EU and India. He expressed optimism that implementation could occur by 2027.
Several of India’s recent trade agreements—with the United Kingdom, Oman, and New Zealand—where negotiations have concluded, still await activation due to ongoing legal reviews and other procedural steps. Trade agreements can take from a few months to over a year to become operational following the conclusion of talks, influenced by factors like the efficiency and complexity of legal reviews, the number of chapters involved, legislative differences, and the time needed to implement changes in duty structures.
