Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)

BTIA is the old name for India’s trade talks with the European Union. This card shows the name, the three agreements of today and the words to know.

What is the BTIA?

BTIA stands for Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement. PIB called the 2007 to 2013 talks the “Broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement”.

In December 2007 a PIB reply said India was negotiating such an agreement only with the EU among the western countries.

What replaced it?

On 17 June 2022 the EU and India formally relaunched talks on a free trade agreement. They also launched talks on an investment protection agreement and on a geographical indications agreement.

Which words should I know?

• Free trade agreement (FTA): a deal in which countries cut tariffs on trade between them.
• Tariff line: one product category in a country’s tariff schedule.
• Geographical indication (GI): a name that marks a product as coming from a place.
• Council of the EU: the EU body that adopts the decision to sign. The Commission has asked it to authorise signature.
• Ratify: to approve a signed treaty formally under a country’s own rules.

The BTIA talks began in 2007 and stalled in 2013. This card gives the dates, the round counts and the reasons the sources give.

When did the talks begin?

India and the EU began negotiating on 28 June 2007. By December 2007 both sides had discussed textual proposals.

A PIB reply of that month said trade and investment agreements aim to promote trade. They do this by removing barriers to trade in goods and services and by allowing market access through investment.

How many rounds were held?

The European Parliament research page counts 15 rounds in Brussels and New Delhi before the talks stalled in 2013. PIB, citing the Commerce Minister in March 2017, counts sixteen rounds, the last in 2013.

The two counts differ by one. So this lesson says “15 or 16 rounds” and names the source.

Why did the talks stall?

A Commission release of 17 June 2022 says the talks were suspended in 2013 due to a gap in ambition. PIB said in March 2017 that the EU withdrew over some outstanding issues.

Neither source names the issues. So this lesson does not name them either.

What happened between 2015 and 2017?

• 5 August 2015: India deferred the chief negotiators’ talks. It cited an EU ban on about 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences, Hyderabad.
• 2016: four stocktaking meetings were held. They were on 18 January (New Delhi), 22 February (Brussels), 15 July (New Delhi) and 9 November (New Delhi).
• April 2017: India said it was awaiting the response of the EU side to resume the BTIA negotiations.

A stocktaking meeting reviews where the talks stand.

The restart came in two steps. Leaders decided it in May 2021. The formal relaunch came in June 2022.

What was decided in 2021?

On 8 May 2021 EU and Indian leaders agreed to resume negotiations. They wanted a “balanced, ambitious, comprehensive and mutually beneficial” trade agreement.

They also agreed to start separate talks on an investment protection agreement and a geographical indications agreement. They agreed to link the trade talks to finding “solutions to long-standing market access issues”.

On 4 August 2021 a Lok Sabha reply confirmed that India and the EU had agreed to resume the negotiations.

When were the talks formally relaunched?

On 17 June 2022 Valdis Dombrovskis and Piyush Goyal formally relaunched the negotiations. The first round covering the three areas of work was in New Delhi from 27 June to 1 July 2022.

The two sides aimed to conclude by the end of 2023. That target passed. The talks concluded on 27 January 2026.

What happened in 2025?

On 28 February 2025 the College of Commissioners visited India. Ursula von der Leyen and Narendra Modi then agreed to accelerate the talks.

The 14th round was in October 2025. The SPS chapter was closed afterwards. The Commission noted that technical talks would take the form of continuous engagement at chief-negotiator level, rather than full rounds.

SPS means sanitary and phytosanitary rules. They are health rules for food, animals and plants.

The FTA was announced as concluded at a summit in New Delhi. This card shows who announced it, what it covers and what else the summit adopted.

Who announced it, and where?

Narendra Modi and Ursula von der Leyen jointly announced the conclusion of the India-EU FTA. It was announced at the 16th India-EU Summit, held during the visit of the European leaders to India.

The Commerce Ministry said the EU becomes India’s 22nd FTA partner. PIB says India is the 4th largest economy and the EU the 2nd largest. It says together they make up 25% of global GDP, as at 27 January 2026.

What does the FTA cover?

PIB lists trade in goods, services, trade remedies, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation. It also lists emerging areas such as SMEs and digital trade.

What else did the summit adopt?

The leaders adopted “Towards 2030: India-EU Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda”. They also welcomed the signing of the India-EU Security and Defence Partnership.

The leaders tasked their teams to complete the IPA and GI talks at the earliest opportunity.

Each side opened its market in part and kept some goods protected. This card gives the tariff figures with their owners, and one place where two sources differ.

What does India get in the EU market?

PIB says India has gained preferential access across 97% of EU tariff lines (27 January 2026). These lines cover 99.5% of trade value.

PIB says duty on 70.4% of lines will go to zero on entry into force. Those lines cover 90.7% of India’s exports.

The PIB factsheet (27 January 2026) says USD 33 billion of labour-intensive exports now face EU duties of 4% to 26%. It says they will enter at zero duty from entry into force. The PIB release of the same date gives the duties as up to 10% on almost the same exports. The two PIB texts differ on the range.

What does India offer?

PIB says India offers 92.1% of its tariff lines. These cover 97.5% of EU exports.

Business Standard (news) reported on 11 September 2026 that India offered tariff concessions on 86% of lines. The EU offered liberalisation on 97% of lines.

The 92.1% and 86% figures differ. This lesson uses PIB’s 92.1% for India’s offer and shows the difference.

India safeguarded sensitive sectors. PIB lists dairy, cereals, poultry, soymeal and certain fruits and vegetables.

What does the EU say?

The Commission page lists three headline numbers, as at September 2026:

• Tariffs: 90% of tariffs eliminated or reduced.
• Exports: an estimated EUR 58 billion a year of extra EU goods and services exports to India.
• Savings: EUR 4 billion a year in duty savings for European exporters.

The Commission says the EU will keep its current tariffs on sensitive products. It lists beef, sugar, rice, chicken meat, milk powders, honey, bananas, soft wheat, garlic and ethanol.

What about services?

As at 27 January 2026, PIB says India secured broader and deeper commitments from the EU across 144 services subsectors. India’s offer covers 102 subsectors.

In the same PIB text, the EU offered commitments in 37 sectors or subsectors for contractual service suppliers. It offered 17 for independent professionals.

PIB says India also secured a framework to engage on Social Security Agreements over a five-year horizon. It says practitioners of Indian Traditional Medicine will be able to work under home title once the FTA applies. This is in EU Member States where the practice is not regulated.

CBAM is an EU climate rule that affects imports. The FTA has special provisions on it.

What is CBAM?

CBAM is the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It ensures that the price of imports reflects their embedded carbon emissions.

Embedded emissions are the carbon released while making a good.

CBAM applies to imports of selected goods in carbon-intensive sectors. They are cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen.

When did CBAM start to apply?

The Commission’s CBAM pages say CBAM ran in a transitional phase from 2023 to 2025. They say it applies under its definitive regime from 1 January 2026.

Importers must now meet authorisation and reporting duties. They must also buy and surrender CBAM certificates matching the embedded emissions of imported goods.

What does the FTA say about CBAM?

PIB lists forward-looking CBAM provisions in the FTA. India secured a most-favoured-nation assurance. It extends any flexibilities the EU grants third countries under the regulation.

The FTA also provides technical cooperation on recognising carbon prices and verifiers. It adds financial assistance and targeted support.

On 30 July 2026 the EU and India agreed a dedicated CBAM framework to be included in the FTA. It addresses Indian stakeholders’ concerns about complying with CBAM.

The sources show the FTA as concluded but not yet signed. This card shows where it stands and the steps still ahead.

Where does it stand in the newest sources?

The newest status source here is dated 20 September 2026. On 11 September 2026 the Commission put its proposals for signature and conclusion to the Council. It proposed a fast-track procedure. The legal process would rely on the English text, not on translations into all 24 EU official languages.

The Parliament research page says press reports note that some member states have reservations on this point.

The EU and India would like to sign in December 2026, in Brussels. That is an aim. The Parliament research page, updated on 20 September 2026, describes signing as a wish, not as an event.

Government sources said on 20 August 2026 that legal scrubbing was complete (ANI, news). Legal scrubbing is a final check of the legal text.

On 17 June 2026 Modi, António Costa and von der Leyen met at the G7 in Evian. They expressed the will to sign the FTA by the end of 2026.

What are the steps?

The Commission lists these steps after its proposal to the Council:

1. Adoption by the Council.
2. Signing of the agreement between the EU and India.
3. The European Parliament’s agreement to the deal.
4. The Council’s decision on concluding the deal.

Once India also ratifies the agreement, it can enter into force.

In India, Business Standard (news) says the Union Cabinet must approve, followed by the President. The same report says both sides aim to implement the pact in the first half of 2027.

What about the other two agreements?

The Commission lists the FTA as concluded. It lists the Investment Protection Agreement and the Geographical Indications Agreement as being negotiated.

After the G7 meeting in June 2026 the leaders also wished to accelerate work on an investment agreement.

The Trade and Technology Council, or TTC, runs alongside the trade talks. EEAS said in 2023 that its work runs in parallel to the trade negotiations.

What is the TTC?

The Council joint statement calls the TTC a high-level coordination platform. It addresses key trade, technology and economic security issues.

At the January 2026 summit the leaders called the TTC the “cornerstone” of their technology partnership. They also said they will broaden its discussions on economic security. Examples are supply-chain resilience and research security.

When did it meet?

The first ministerial meeting of the TTC was held in Brussels on 16 May 2023. It relied on the work of three working groups.

The third meeting was also held in Brussels, on 15 July 2026. Its joint statement recalled the 16th India-EU Summit of 27 January 2026.

These numbers come from different sources, years and currencies. Do not subtract one from another. Each is shown with its own year.

What does India’s own data show?

PIB says India’s goods trade with the EU was USD 136.54 billion in 2024-25. Exports were USD 75.85 billion. Imports were USD 60.68 billion.

PIB gives services trade as USD 83.10 billion in 2024.

What does EU data show?

EU data for calendar 2025 show goods trade of EUR 118 billion. That is 11.1% of India’s total trade. The EU is India’s third-largest trading partner on this measure.

India is the EU’s ninth-largest trading partner. It accounts for 2.3% of EU goods trade in 2025.

EU services trade with India was EUR 67 billion in 2024. The EU’s FDI stock in India was EUR 132.8 billion in 2024. India’s FDI stock in the EU was EUR 13.7 billion.

The Commission says about 6,000 European companies are present in India (September 2026).

What does the press say about 2025-26?

Business Standard (news) reported that imports from the EU in FY2025-26 were about USD 66 billion. It said India had a trade surplus of around USD 6 billion with the EU.

This is a press number, not an official figure.

The 2017 Prelims paper asked about BTIA. This card shows the official wording and answer, and then the traps.

Which question was it?

What are the traps?

1. The name. UPSC used the BTIA name of the 2007 to 2013 talks. PIB’s release of 27 January 2026 calls the concluded deal the India-EU FTA.
2. The partner. The negotiations were with the European Union. The other options were the GCC, the OECD and the SCO.
3. Concluded is not signed. The FTA was concluded on 27 January 2026. The sources show a December 2026 signing only as an aim.
4. One deal became three. Since 2022 there are an FTA, an IPA and a GI agreement. Only the FTA is concluded.
5. Two steps for the restart. Leaders decided in May 2021. The formal relaunch was on 17 June 2022.
6. Counts that differ. The talks had 15 or 16 rounds, depending on the source. India’s offer is 92.1% of tariff lines in PIB and 86% in Business Standard.