How big is the EU trade agreement with India?

Key takeaways

• The EU and India trade over €180 billion a year. EU exports to India reach €48.8bn in goods and €26bn in services in 2024. It supported around 800,000 EU jobs.
• 96.6% of EU goods exports will see tariffs reduced or eliminated. It drove a projected 107.6% increase in EU goods exports by 2032.
• The EU expects around €4bn in customs duty savings per year, largely from tariff cuts on high-value industrial trade.
• The agreement mainly targets industrial goods, which make up the largest share of EU exports and face some of the highest existing tariffs.
• Food and beverage exports are economically small, but remain politically sensitive.
• The highest current tariffs apply to alcohol and meat. It reached 150% for wine and spirits, 110% for beer, and up to 110% for processed meat.
• The largest tariff cuts move many products to 0%. This includes industrial goods, olive oil, processed foods, and fruit juices.
• Alcohol tariffs fall sharply but remain significant, with wine dropping to 20–30%, spirits to 40%, and beer to 50%.
• Trade talks lasted nearly 20 years, starting in 2007, pausing from 2013 to 2022, and concluding in 2026.

The European Union and India trade over €180 billion in goods and services each year.

In 2024, EU exports to India included:

• €48.8bn in goods
• €26bn in services

Together, the EU-India trade deal supports around 800,000 jobs in the EU.

The free trade agreement was concluded in January 2026. Its main purpose is to reduce long-standing tariff barriers in sectors where EU companies are already active but face high costs when exporting to India.

Tariffs are taxes charged on imported goods. Before the agreement, many EU products faced import taxes when entering India. This made them more expensive for Indian buyers. Reducing or removing these tariffs lowers costs. As a result, businesses can sell their products more easily and at more competitive prices.

Under the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, tariffs are eliminated or reduced on 96.6% of EU goods. This is why the EU expects its exports to India to rise by 107.6% by 2032.

Commodities with Tariff Changes in the EU-India Trade Deal

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

The commodities table shows that industrial goods make up the largest share of EU exports to India and receive the most extensive tariff reductions under the agreement.

Most of these goods are not consumer products. They are inputs used in factories, infrastructure projects, transport systems, and energy networks. Their high export value reflects India’s demand for capital-intensive equipment and intermediate goods, as well as the EU’s role as a supplier of such technology, even though these products are rarely visible in everyday life.

This is why the agreement is expected to generate around €4bn per year in customs duty savings for EU exporters. The largest savings come from large, established trade flows, rather than from niche sectors.

Food & Beverages with Tariff Changes in the EU-India Trade Deal

The food and beverages table looks very different.

Export values are relatively small, often only in the single-digit millions of euros. Yet these products face some of the highest tariffs in India’s import system:

• Alcohol tariffs of 110–150%
• Processed food tariffs are often above 50%
• Meat products are subject to especially high protection

This contrast is intentional. In food and beverages, high tariffs do not reflect large trade volumes. Instead, they reflect political and social sensitivity. These products directly affect domestic farmers, small producers, and everyday consumer prices. Cultural and religious factors also influence policy, particularly for meat and alcohol.

The agreement reflects this cautious approach. Many food categories move to 0% tariffs, especially processed foods, fruit juices, and vegetable oils. Others remain partially protected:

• Wine tariffs fall to 20–30%
• Spirits to 40%
• Beer to 50%
• Some fruit categories remain quota-based

The EU-India trade agreement expands market access for many food products while preserving protections for sectors considered more sensitive.

Taken together, the two tables show a consistent pattern.

The largest tariff cuts apply to large, less politically sensitive trade flows, mainly industrial goods. More cautious liberalisation applies to consumer-facing products, even when their economic weight is relatively small.

This helps explain the long negotiation timeline, which began in 2007. Then, it was suspended between 2013 and 2022 before its conclusion in January 2026. The delays were not due to technical complexity alone, but to the need to balance economic gains with domestic adjustment concerns.

The EU–India trade agreement is not designed to liberalise everything at once. It is designed to prioritise scale.

Its economic impact comes primarily from industrial goods, where tariff removal affects large, existing trade flows. Its political complexity is concentrated in food and beverages, where tariffs remain high despite modest trade volumes.

If current projections hold, EU goods exports to India will more than double within six years. This outcome is driven less by headline tariff cuts and more by steady reductions in sectors that already matter most.

The agreement changes access where it counts, while leaving visible and sensitive sectors on a slower path.