India-EU trade pact to be signed by Dec: Goyal

India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) will sign the free trade agreement by December and are likely to implement the pact during February-March next year, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday.

On January 27 this year, India and the EU announced the conclusion of negotiations for the ‘mother of all deals’.

“Now, with almost zero duty, almost the entire European market will be open for us. The EU’s FTA (free trade agreement) will be signed by December and will be effective by February-March,” Goyal said during an interaction with chartered accountants in Mumbai.

He also said that his US Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, is coming to India this week to hold trade pact talks with him.

“The whole world is looking towards India,” Piyush Goyal added.

Under the India-EU FTA, about 93 per cent of Indian shipments will enjoy duty-free access to the 27-nation bloc, while imports of luxury cars and wines from the EU will become less expensive.

Taken together, India and the EU account for 25 per cent of the global GDP and one-third (about USD 11 trillion) of international trade (about USD 33 trillion).

Later, he told reporters that during the G7 Summit in France, the Canadian Prime Minister expressed a desire to conclude the proposed free trade agreement with India this year.

The two sides held the second round of negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May.