India eyes historic trade milestones in 2026: UK FTA takes effect; Pact with EU & Canada to be concluded by year end

Paris: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on June 18, Thursday said that India has two major economic milestones slated to take place by the end of the year. During a press briefing following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the 52nd G7 summit in Evian, France, the Foreign Secretary highlighted that India and the European Union are set to sign the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before the end of the year.

The development was confirmed following a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi met jointly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “They recalled the fact that discussions on an India-EU FTA, the negotiations, the announcement of the conclusion of negotiations happened earlier this year when the two leaders were visiting New Delhi and the understanding that by the end of the year the agreement will be signed”, he said.

The comprehensive India-EU pact spans goods, services and digital trade. It is set to create a massive free market covering nearly two billion people and a quarter of the global economy, opening new avenues for trade, investment and technology cooperation.

India-Canada CEPA set to conclude

In addition to the progress with the European Union, the Foreign Secretary said that the government is also moving to accelerate trade talks with Canada, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney, pushed for the conclusion of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by the end of the year. In this direction, a recent visit by the Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to Canada, pushed the negotiations to meet this year-end deadline.

These twin trade objectives form a central pillar of the government’s current diplomatic agenda, with teams from all involved parties instructed to prioritise these agreements in the coming months. Earlier, a statement by the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office on the meeting with PM Modi noted that the leaders welcomed the ongoing momentum in the exchange of high-level visits between the two countries and looked forward to the forthcoming Canadian trade mission to India, to be led by Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, later in 2026.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in negotiations towards a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and reaffirmed their shared objective of concluding the negotiations in 2026, the statement highlighted. In a significant step towards strengthening security cooperation, the leaders also agreed to launch negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA).

India-UK CETA to be effective from July 15

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also said that the announcement of the implementation of the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was among the key outcomes of Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi’s engagements on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian, with the pact set to come into force on July 15. Misri highlighted trade as a major theme running through several of PM Modi’s bilateral meetings.

Highlighting the development as a significant step forward in relations with one of India’s major economic partners. The landmark India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into force with the government working to ensure that customs notifications and related processes are put in place so that exporters can start availing concessions from day one.

India-UK CETA is the most aspirational agreement so far and will open up a market worth over USD 500 billion for Indian businesses and large economic opportunities.  The agreement is expected to provide an additional tariff advantage of 7-10 per cent to Indian exporters, bringing India at par with several other countries that already enjoy zero-duty access to the UK market.

Sources said over 99 per cent of India’s tariff lines and 99 per cent of India’s trade would come down to zero duty under the pact. India currently enjoys a trade surplus with the UK in both merchandise and services. India’s services exports to the UK stood at USD 21.6 billion in 2024, while UK services exports to India were valued at USD 13.7 billion. Merchandise exports from India to the UK stood at USD 13.7 billion in 2025, compared with imports of USD 9.47 billion.

India-US interim trade deal in final stages

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also said that the India-US interim bilateral trade agreement is in its “final stages,” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump pushing for its earliest possible conclusion. “With the United States, we have made significant progress already on the conclusion of an interim free trade agreement. We are in the final stages of concluding that agreement. Next week in fact the United States trade representative Mr Jamieson Greer will be visiting India to take forward these discussions”, Secretary Misri added.

Greer’s visit to comes as India remains engaged with the United States on the proposed tariff measures under the Section 301 proceedings and is simultaneously working towards finalising a bilateral trade framework agreement with Washington.

(With Inputs from ANI)