October 19, 2025

Get ready for some buzzing trade action! India's Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal, is packing his bags for Europe later this month. His first stop? The Berlin Global Dialogue from October 23 to 25, a big stage where he’ll dive into global economic talks. But that’s just the opening act! After Berlin, Goyal heads straight to Brussels to push forward the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The stakes are high here. He’ll sit down with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to keep the momentum alive. This visit comes fresh on the heels of the 14th round of intensive talks held from October 6 to 10. Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal also kept the conversation hot by meeting European Commission’s trade chief Sabine Weyand. Why all this hustle? Because both India and the EU want to wrap up the FTA talks by December — a deal that stalled back in 2013 due to disagreements on market access but picked up steam again in June 2022. Why does this matter? India’s trade with the EU is massive! In 2024-25, bilateral trade in goods hit a whopping $136.53 billion. India exported goods worth $75.85 billion and imported $60.68 billion from the EU. The EU is India’s largest trading partner for goods, with about 17% of India's exports heading there. Meanwhile, the EU sends 9% of its overseas shipments to India. After the EU rounds, Goyal has New Zealand on his itinerary. India and New Zealand kicked off their own FTA talks last March and are already three rounds in. With so much happening, the next few months look critical for India’s global trade ambitions. As the clock ticks towards December, the world watches eagerly as Piyush Goyal leads India’s trade talks to potentially game-changing deals. Will India and the EU seal the pact? Stay tuned!

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Tags: Piyush goyal, India-eu free trade agreement, Berlin global dialogue, Brussels, Trade talks, Eu trade commissioner,