Modi highlights role in ‘stability to world order’ as India-EU lock mega FTA | Key points

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Indian textile industry is set to benefit from the India-EU FTA with exports and has potential to grow from USD 7 billion to USD 30-40 billion very quickly, union minister of commerce and industry Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday, noting that this could generate 6-7 million jobs in the labour-intensive sector. Goyal said the two sides agreeing to key initiatives across domains is a statement of deep partnership and the strategic intent.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Welcoming the India-EU FTA, Irish Ambassador to India, Kevin Kelly, on expressed hope on seeing fewer tariffs between the two trading partners to facilitate and benefit consumers, companies and producers of both regions. “We are very positive about today. I have not yet seen the details, but this is something we really wanted to see. Ireland, as a small country, knows the importance of trade agreements. From being one of the poorest countries in Europe, we became the wealthiest country, thanks to our membership in a common market... It is great that, being the greatest democracy in the world, the EU and India are signing this deal,” he was quoted as saying by ANI. Tariffs are not good for trade, he said, adding that fewer tariffs would translate to more trade. "Hopefully, this deal will result in fewer tariffs, and this will benefit Indian consumers, companies and producers as much as those in Europe," he added.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Hailing the India-European Union free trade agreement as a "historic achievement", home minister Amit Shah said the deal, spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dictum of 'India first', would augment India's mission for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'. Aligned with the prime minister's vision of making India a developed country by 2047, the deal heralds a new era of prosperity by gaining "unprecedented access" for 99 per cent of Indian exports in various sectors, ranging from textile footwear, marine products, handicrafts, gems and jewelery to engineering goods, Shah said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Here is how the trade pact will benefit EU:

• Overall, India is offering 92.1 per cent of its tariff lines, which cover 97.5 per cent of the EU exports.
• 49.6 per cent of tariff lines will have immediate duty elimination.
• 39.5 per cent of tariff lines are subject to phased elimination over 5, 7, and 10 years
• 3 per cent of products are under phased tariff reductions, and a few products are subject to TRQs for Apples, Pears, Peaches, and Kiwi Fruit.
• Imports of the EU's high technology goods are expected to diversify India's import sources, thereby reducing input costs for businesses, benefiting consumers.
• Duty will be eliminated for Olive Oil, margarine and other vegetable oils, Fruit juices and non-alcoholic beer, processed food (breads, pastries, biscuits, pasta, chocolate, pet food) and Sheep meat.
• Duty will be reduced for wines, beer, spirits, kiwi, pears, and Sausages and other meat preparations.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Here are the key points of historic India-EU FTA

• India has gained preferential access to the European markets across 97 per cent of tariff lines, covering 99.5 per cent of trade value.
• 70.4 per cent tariff lines covering 90.7 per cent of India's exports will have immediate duty elimination for labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, leather and footwear, tea, coffee, spices, sports goods, toys, gems and jewellery and certain marine products.
• 20.3 per cent tariff lines covering 2.9 per cent of India's exports will have zero duty access over 3 and 5 years for certain marine products, processed food items, arms and ammunition
• 6.1 per cent tariff lines covering 6 per cent of India's exports will have preferential access by way of tariff reduction for certain poultry products, preserved vegetables, and bakery products, among others or through tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for cars, steel, and certain shrimps.
• USD 33 billion worth of exports that are currently subjected to import duty between 4-26 per cent in the EU will enter at zero duty from the entry into force of the FTA.
• Preferential market access for agricultural products like tea, coffee, spices, grapes, gherkins and cucumbers, dried onion, fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as for processed food products, will make them more competitive in the EU.
• India has safeguarded sensitive sectors, including dairy, cereals, poultry, soymeal, certain fruits and vegetables, balancing export growth with domestic priorities.

via PTI

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Since 2014, India has locked seven trade pacts -- Mauritius (April 2021 implemented), Australia (December 2022 implemented), UAE (May 2022 implemented), Oman (signed in December 2025), UK (signed in July 2025), EFTA (implemented in October 2025 - Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), and New Zealand (talks concluded in December 2025), according to PTI. The India-EU trade pact is seen as a relief for industries battered by tariffs imposed by the US. India is facing steep 50 per cent tariffs. The FTA will also help reduce dependence on China.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: India and the European Union on Tuesday sealed an ambitious defence pact that will provide for counter-terror cooperation, deeper engagement in the Indo-Pacific and joint development of military hardware. The agreement was concluded at the India-EU summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EU leaders -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that 37 developed nations and India have entered into free trade agreements in a short span of four years as he credited PM Modi for the landmark moment. “It is our eighth free trade agreement under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Each and every one of them with developed nations and collectively reflecting an agreement between India and 37 developed nations,” Goyal said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: On EU leaders' visit to foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the outcomes are deeply strategic in nature as the ties between India and EU have grown steadily in the last one decade. “They have grown not just in scale but in significance as well, as evidenced by the level and frequency of contacts and engagements between the two sides,” he said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Textile stocks ended higher on Tuesday on a day when the European Union and India announced the conclusion of negotiations for the free trade agreement (FTA), PTI reported. Indian garments and clothing will get zero-duty access to the European Union market as part of the import duty concessions granted by the 27-nation bloc under the free trade pact, providing textiles and apparel exporters much-needed level-playing field against competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam, industry bodies said on Tuesday.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Vice President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas said they took up the issue of Russia-Ukraine conflict with India and asked the Indian side to put pressure on Russians. “We (India and EU) both believe in peace and we don't want this war to happen. We want this war to end. What we had in our discussions with our Indian counterparts was also to really raise from their side, with the Russians as well, that they would also want peace. Right now, Ukrainians have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire already a year ago. The Russian side is only pretending to negotiate, but they are actually not negotiating. They are demanding their absolute maximum," Kallas said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: GCCI Executive Member Chintan Sheth said the India-EU trade will “benefit everyone from small traders to big businessmen ”amid the chaos caused by tariffs." “This will ensure long-term business security... If this FTA reduces customs duties, businesses will be able to procure raw materials at lower costs,” he said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Following the key FTA between Indian and EU on Tuesday, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the outcomes of the talks between the two sides are ‘deeply strategic in nature.’ “Over the last decade, the relations between India and the European Union have grown steadily. They have grown not just in scale but in significance as well, as evidenced by the level and frequency of contacts and engagements between the two sides. In our fast-changing world, the strategic partnership between India and the EU has a value beyond the bilateral context, particularly as we witness shifts in the global economic, technological, and strategic landscape.”

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: The trade agreement - “largest that both the EU and India have ever concluded" - will see tariffs on EU exports, including chocolates, wines and cars, go down from 50 to 150 per cent to as low as zero to 20 per cent. See full list here

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Wines from Europe are set to enter the Indian market at lower prices under the bilateral free trade agreement as India will provide import duty concessions under the pact. Under the pact, the duty on EU wines would fall from 150 per cent to 20 per cent (for expensive ones). For wines priced below 2.5 euros, there will be no duty concessions. Indian wines, too, will get duty concessions in the EU member countries.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: After India and the European Union sealed the mega-sized Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in New Delhi on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the role of India and the EU in bringing stability in the world order. “There is turmoil in global environment; India-EU will provide stability to world order,” Modi said at a joint press meet with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after the conclusion of negotiations for the India-EU FTA. Read full story here

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: The newly signed India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to establish a future-ready trade framework that boosts next-generation sectors of India’s economy, while enhancing market access, innovation and sustainability for Indian businesses.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the agreement places a strong focus on engineering and manufacturing, sectors central to India’s ambition of achieving USD 300 billion in engineering exports.

By opening up greater access to the USD 2 trillion EU market, the FTA is set to strengthen India’s global competitiveness and deepen the integration of Indian manufacturers into European supply chains.

The framework also gives special emphasis to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and regional industrial clusters, helping them scale operations and compete for global contracts.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) allows preferential access to 97% of tariff lines for Indian goods in the EU markets, covering 99.5% of the trade value. Operationalisation of the deal, which is expected early 2027 after regulatory approvals with respective governments, will see immediate duty elimination for 70.4% tariff lines covering 90.7% of India’s exports. This will cover sectors such as textiles, leather and footwear, tea, coffee, spices, sports goods, toys, gems and jewellery and certain marine products. According to the deal, 20.3% tariff lines covering 2.9% of India’s exports will have zero duty access over three years for items like certain marine products, processed food items, arms and ammunition. Read full report on India-EU trade deal details

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: In a swift recalibration of global economic alliances, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled to fly to China on Tuesday evening to mend fractured diplomatic and trade ties. In another West-East alliance, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is finalising plans for a high-level visit to India in March, aimed at a rapid expansion of bilateral trade. These movements follow the landmark signing of the India-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement, a massive deal that integrates a market of two billion people. The common thread weaving these disparate diplomatic moves together is a growing international urgency to de-risk and diversify trade. And that's necessitated by the protectionist policies and tariff threats from the US led by a “mercurial” Donald Trump.

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India-EU Summit 2026 Live: PM Modi on Tuesday said the Indian investment in the EU has reached almost 40 billion euros. "Today, there is deep cooperation between India and European companies in every sector, including R&D, manufacturing, and services, and business leaders like you are both the drivers and beneficiaries of this. Now is the time to transform this partnership into a whole-of-society partnership," he said in a joint press briefing with European Council President, Antonio Costa, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: On the key FTA with EU, PM Modi said the trade deal will provide easy access to the European Union market for India's labour-intensive products, including textiles, gems and jewellery, auto parts, and engineering goods.

"This visit to India by the Presidents of the European Union Council and Commission is no ordinary diplomatic visit. It heralds a new era in India-European Union relations," he said.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Following the finalisation of India-EU trade deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. said the pact will create millions of jobs in India and Europe.

India-EU Summit 2026 Live: Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the India- EU FTA is a win-win for all sections of industry in India as well as Europe.