India’s Expanding Trade Partnership with Europe Requires Stronger Standards and Compliance Ecosystem: FICCI Leaders

Conference Deliberates on Market Access, Regulatory Compliance and CBAM Challenges under India–Europe Trade Agreements

The Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, organised a conference on “Next-Gen Trade Pacts: Leveraging India’s Partnership with Europe under FTAs” on 19 May 2026 at FICCI Federation House, New Delhi. The conference brought together policymakers, industry representatives, trade experts, legal practitioners, and members of academia to deliberate on India’s evolving trade engagement with Europe under emerging free trade agreements.

The conference commenced with an inaugural session featuring Secretary General, FICCI, Anant Swarup, who welcomed the participants and highlighted the growing significance of India’s trade partnerships with Europe. Chair, FICCI Foreign Trade and Trade Facilitation Committee and Managing Director, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., Harish Ahuja underlined the need to strengthen standards infrastructure, testing and certification capabilities, digital compliance tools, and institutional mechanisms to effectively address non-tariff barriers in European markets.

Professor and Head, Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL), and India Chair, WTO Chairs Programme, Dr. James J. Nedumpara delivered the context-setting address. He highlighted the importance of next-generation trade agreements and emphasised that the evolving trade architecture between India and Europe extends beyond tariff liberalisation to broader disciplines shaping the future framework of international trade and economic cooperation.

Delivering the keynote address, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Darpan Jain described the conclusion of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations as a significant milestone in India’s economic diplomacy. He stated that the agreement would provide preferential tariff treatment to 99.5 per cent of Indian exports. He further noted that the agreement would strengthen India’s integration into European value chains, facilitate greater market access across goods and services sectors, and reduce non-tariff trade barriers.

Director General, FICCI, Jyoti Vij delivered the concluding remarks during the inaugural session and emphasised the importance of effective industry utilisation of trade agreements through awareness, capacity-building, and enterprise preparedness initiatives.

The conference featured four thematic sessions focusing on opportunities arising from India’s trade agreements with Europe, standards and regulatory compliance in European markets, services trade and digital economy engagement, and the implications of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for Indian industry.

The discussions examined pathways for enhancing market access, strengthening export competitiveness, addressing sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, expanding India’s services presence in European markets, and navigating emerging carbon-related trade measures.

The conference also included presentations by experts from CTIL on leveraging India’s FTAs with the UK, EU, and EFTA; SPS and TBT barriers under new trade pacts; services trade and digital economy engagement; CBAM and EU carbon measures; and the Trade Remedies Advisory Cell of CTIL.

The event concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, Pragati Srivastava.

Trade compliance and market access drive India-Europe partnership discussions under next-generation free trade agreements. India-Europe trade partnerships under next-generation free trade agreements were discussed with emphasis on stronger standards infrastructure, testing and certification capacity, digital compliance tools, and institutional mechanisms to address non-tariff barriers in European markets. The conference examined market access, regulatory compliance, services trade, digital economy engagement, and the implications of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism for Indian industry, while noting the need for industry awareness, capacity building, and preparedness to use trade agreements effectively.