NEW DELHI: India’s market of nearly 1.45 billion consumers will be opened significantly to European agri-food exports under the proposed EU–India trade agreement, with steep cuts in Indian import tariffs while safeguarding sensitive farm sectors on both sides, the European Commission said in a press release.
According to the Commission, EU agri-food exports to India were valued at €1.3 billion in 2024, accounting for just 0.6% of the EU’s total agri-food exports, underscoring the scale of untapped potential. Indian tariffs on agri-food products currently average 36% and can go as high as 150%, often acting as a major barrier for European exporters.
The agreement will substantially reduce or eliminate these duties on a wide range of key EU agricultural products, delivering what the Commission described as “unmatched” market access compared with India’s trade agreements with countries such as the UK and Australia.
Under the deal, tariffs on wine — currently as high as 150% — will be cut to 20% for premium wines and 30% for mid-range wines. Duties on spirits, also up to 150% at present, will fall to 40%, while beer tariffs will be reduced from 110% to 50%. Import duties on olive oil, margarine and other vegetable oils will be eliminated from levels of up to 45%.
Tariffs will also be scrapped on fruit juices, non-alcoholic beer and a wide range of processed foods, including bread, biscuits, pasta, chocolate and pet food. For kiwis and pears, duties will be lowered from 33% to 10% within quotas, while tariffs on sheep meat will be reduced to zero. Duties on sausages and other meat preparations will be halved to 50% from levels as high as 110%.
The agreement also provides for the creation of an EU-India working group on wines and spirits to facilitate cooperation and information exchange, including on oenological practices. In parallel, the EU and India are negotiating a separate agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs), aimed at protecting traditional European food products from imitation in the Indian market.
At the same time, the Commission stressed that the deal balances liberalisation with protection for sensitive agricultural sectors. The EU will retain existing tariffs on products such as beef, sugar, rice, chicken meat, milk powder, honey, bananas, soft wheat, garlic and ethanol. It will also open calibrated quotas for imports of products including sheep and goat meat, sweetcorn, grapes, cucumbers, dried onions, rum made from molasses and starches. A bilateral safeguard mechanism has been built in to address any unlikely market disruption arising directly from the agreement.
Reiterating that “EU health is not negotiable,” the Commission said all Indian products entering the bloc under the agreement will have to meet the EU’s stringent, science-based standards for human, animal and plant health. The EU will retain full autonomy over its food safety rules, carry out impact assessments on production standards — particularly on pesticides and animal welfare — and step up food safety audits and border controls for imported agri-food products.