Mother of all deals: Piyush Goyal on upcoming FTA with European Union

New Delhi: India’s free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) will be the “mother of all deals”, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. Assuring that India will not compromise its national interests in pursuit of the agreement, the minister said the proposed agreement will be a mutually beneficial trade pact, terming it a “super deal” for the country’s export sectors.

“We have done FTA deals with seven developed countries so far. This one will be the mother of all. It will cover two of the world’s most powerful economies. We have very good growth possibilities,” Goyal told media persons.

European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will visit India for the 16th EU-India Summit, scheduled for January 27.


The two sides are likely to announce the conclusion of the trade talks that day.

“I can assure you that we will not compromise the benefit of our country with the FTA deal with the EU,” Goyal said, adding that the bilateral trade is reasonably balanced in goods and services.

He said that all sensitive issues such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and dairy would be addressed to India’s satisfaction.

A day earlier, commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal had said that India and the EU were “very close” to concluding negotiations on the proposed FTA and that discussions were underway to resolve remaining issues so that the deal would be ready for announcement during the visit of the top EU leaders later this month.

“Previous governments were very scared to do FTAs with the developed world. We go to the developed world with full confidence. We are willing to take bold decisions, and therefore we get the best deal out of the other countries,” Goyal said. On the strong support from the EU member nations, the minister said, “In the last few months, at different levels… all 27 EU states have conveyed their excitement to conclude the India-EU deal very quickly. Not a single one of the 27 states is opposed to an India-EU partnership.”

India’s exports during the first fortnight of January were “highly” positive, global economic uncertainties notwithstanding, Goyal said without disclosing the numbers.