India and the European Union have “significantly” reduced the gaps in their negotiating positions after three days of trade discussions in Brussels, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday (October 28, 2025) evening.

Mr. Goyal and his EU counterpart, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, held discussions to provide a political push to help get the negotiations for an India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) over the finish line.

“The talks have significantly reduced our outstanding issues and allowed us to create the framework that will help deliver a win-win for our economies,” Mr. Goyal said on X, describing the discussions as “intense” but “very productive”.

Mr. Goyal posted a video statement by the two Ministers, in which Mr Šefčovič characterised the talks as having occurred in an atmosphere of “full transparency and trust”. The Commissioner also said that “further work is required”. He said substantial progress had been made in a number of areas and the sides had given specific guidance to their teams on industrial tariffs.

Mr. Šefčovič confirmed that a high-level EU trade delegation led by Director-General Sabine Weyand would be in New Delhi next week to conclude “technical tariff negotiations”. A trade delegation from the European Parliament is in New Delhi this week to better understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the trade negotiations.

Contentious issues

Some of the sticking points have included tariffs around agricultural products, a sensitive area for both sides and particularly for India. Tariffs on European automobiles being sold in India have also been under discussion in recent weeks. Regulatory issues, including the EU’s carbon tax on imports (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism), have been contentious issues to work through.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had backed a year-end deadline for the FTA, with the 14th round of talks concluding on October 10 in Brussels. The Hindu had reported on October 11 that talks would continue between formal rounds as the sides race to meet the deadline.

“The negotiations and discussions have laid the foundation for a robust and balanced agreement,” Mr. Goyal said.

The first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which includes Russia, is likely to take place in early November, according to the Russian embassy. However, this is yet to be confirmed by the Indian government.

In addition, the next two months are going to see rounds of negotiations for FTAs between India and the EU, Chile, Peru, and a review of the FTA with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In a statement, the Embassy of Russia in India said that the Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Andrey Slepnev met Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on September 15.

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“The Ministers agreed on an approach under which the first round of negotiations is set to take place in early November this year in India and focus on discussing the core aspects of the future deal,” the statement said. “It will be preceded by intensive consultations between the Commission, Indian partners, and the EAEU Member States.”

The Indian government, however, has not confirmed the date of the first round of negotiations.

According to a source in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the next round of negotiations for the FTA between India and the European Union will take place on October 6-10.

A second source, close to the negotiations, said that “almost all” issues pertaining to India-EU FTA have been resolved, and that an early harvest deal could also be on the cards. This comes at a time when the EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič last week said that the two sides will meet the December-end deadline for the conclusion of negotiations on the full FTA.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) posted on X that “we are committed to finalising our trade agreement [with India] by the end of the year”.

The sources in the Ministry further confirmed that the next rounds of negotiations on the India-Chile FTA would take place on October 27-31 , and for the India-Peru FTA on November 3-5.

Further, the next meeting to review the FTA with the ASEAN countries is expected on 6-7 October, with the source saying that the review is “expected to be concluded by year-end”.