GTRI urges India to press European Union on non-tariff barriers in FTA

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

80% : India is also seeking EU recognition as a 'data-secure' country under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which would allow smoother transfer of EU citizens' data.
67% : The conclusion of the India-EU FTA negotiations is expected to be announced on January 27, 2026 during the EU team' Delhi visit.
61% : The EU wants automatic GI recognition in India for products such as Champagne, Roquefort (a blue cheese from France which is made from sheep's milk) and Prosciutto di Parma (a dry-cured ham from Italy).
56% : "The EU, however, wants India to adopt privacy rules closer to GDPR.
56% : "The EU, on the other hand, is pressing for stronger investment protections.
55% : The EU is a major source of foreign direct investment in India, with cumulative investment stock exceeding 100 billion euros as of 2024.
54% : "The EU has already signalled flexibility by offering CBAM carve-outs to U.S. goods, and India may ask for similar treatment," Mr. Srivastava said.
54% : He said India is also pressing for easier short-term business visas, totalisation agreements to avoid double social security contributions, and mutual recognition of professional qualifications, while the EU is seeking broader access to India's banking, legal and financial services markets.
54% : India and the EU are also negotiating a separate GI (Geographical indicators) and investment protection pacts.
52% : At the services front, the GTRI also said the EU limits remote delivery of services by requiring Indian firms to set up local offices and by imposing high minimum salary thresholds for Indian professionals.
51% : "India should press the European Union (EU) to clear the "dense web" of non-tariff barriers for domestic products, especially in the agri and pharma sectors, under the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as such restrictions often "blunt" the benefits of tariff reductions," think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said on Monday (January 19, 2026).
51% : "Tariff liberalisation alone will not deliver proportional export gains unless accompanied by regulatory cooperation, faster approvals and mutual recognition in any trade deal with the EU," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
49% : He said that the trade pact should also resolve the two critical concerns of India with regard to carbon tax - Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
49% : "Without exemptions, carve-outs or at least safeguard language (on CBAM), the FTA could become structurally unbalanced, allowing EU goods' duty-free access to India while Indian exports remain constrained by Europe's climate-linked border measures," he added.
48% : EU leaders to be chief guests at Republic Day function "India argues that while these measures are framed as consumer or environmental safeguards, their cumulative effect functions as a de facto trade barrier," it said, adding that Indian exporters face a dense web of non-tariff barriers in the European Union that often blunt the impact of tariff cuts.
46% : "With EU governments cautious about labour mobility, India's services gains will hinge on progress in data-secure status, totalisation, and temporary movement of professionals," he said.
46% : "India is likely to offer limited access, pointing out that the EU's own procurement market remains largely closed to foreign firms.
40% : "In 2015, India terminated 22 of its 27 investment treaties with EU countries, arguing that they exposed India to excessive legal claims and restricted its ability to regulate in the public interest," the GTRI said.
37% : "Agricultural exports such as basmati rice, spices and tea are frequently rejected or subjected to heightened inspections due to sharply lowered EU pesticide residue limits, while marine exports face higher sampling rates over antibiotic concerns," the GTRI said.
36% : He said this tax is particularly damaging for MSMEs, which face high compliance costs, complex reporting requirements and the risk of being penalised using inflated default emissions values.
26% : EU warns of downward spiral after Trump threatens tariffs over Greenland The barriers faced by Indian products in the EU include regulatory delays in pharmaceutical approvals, stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (related to plants and animals) rules affecting food and agricultural exports such as buffalo meat, and complex testing, certification and conformity-assessment requirements.

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