India and the European Union (EU) have completed negotiations on their long-awaited free trade agreement. The official announcement is expected on Tuesday. ANI reported this development, quoting Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal on Monday.

Agrawal said the agreement will now go through legal scrubbing. This step checks the text for consistency and legal compliance. Only after this process will both sides formally sign the deal.

“The deal will be balanced, forward-looking and help with better economic integration with the EU. Deal will propel trade and investment between both sides. The deal will enter into force sometime next year. Legal scrubbing of text to take 5-6 months, formal signing to be done post that,” Agrawal said.

Deal expected to deepen economic ties

Earlier, both India and the EU had signalled that talks were close to completion. These statements came on Sunday and raised expectations of a breakthrough.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said both sides remain focused on a strong and fair agreement. He described the pact as one that would benefit businesses and people in India and Europe.

India and the EU are committed to a “mutually beneficial and ambitious free trade agreement aimed at boosting prosperity for businesses and people on both sides,” Goyal said.

He also highlighted the progress made in recent months. “Pleased to agree that sustained & constructive engagement between us & our teams over the past year has brought us closer to a fruitful outcome,” he wrote on X, responding to EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

Goyal added, “The European Union remains a vital economic & strategic partner for India.”

EU calls talks unusually intensive

Maros Sefcovic, who is in India with a team of EU officials, echoed similar optimism. He said discussions with India have been more frequent and focused than usual.

“I’m confident to say we’re nearing the conclusion of our FTA negotiations. The cumulation of an intense past year likely my most frequent trade engagement reflecting its importance,” Sefcovic said in a post on X.

He also noted that this was his tenth in-person meeting with Goyal, underlining the importance both sides attach to the deal.

‘Mother of all deals’ after 18 years of talks

The India-EU free trade agreement is among India’s longest-running trade negotiations. Talks began nearly 18 years ago. In the past, Goyal has described the proposed pact as the “mother of all deals” for India.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in India on January 24 for a four-day visit. She is set to attend summit-level talks on January 27 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Council President Antonio Costa.

EU remains India’s top trade partner

The European Union continues to be India’s largest trading partner in goods. Bilateral trade stood at about $136 billion in 2024-25, according to PTI.

Although the conclusion of talks may be announced this week, the agreement will not take effect immediately. It must first undergo legal vetting. After that, both sides will sign it on a mutually agreed date.

The pact will also need approval from the European Parliament and India’s Union Cabinet.

Experts see gains, limited risks

Trade analysts believe the agreement will boost trade and investment without seriously harming domestic industries.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said the India-EU relationship is based on complementarity, not competition.

“The two are not rivals but partners operating on different rungs of the value chain,” GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava told PTI. He added that this structure is likely to reduce costs and expand trade rather than threaten Indian industry.