Brussels, 27 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The European Union and India have concluded negotiations on a free trade deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi have said.

"The EU and India make history today, deepening the partnership between the world's biggest democracies," von der Leyen said.

"We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically. We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes," she said, during an EU-India summit in New Delhi.

Under the deal, India is to gradually reduce tariffs on imported cars from 110% to as low as 10%, and tariffs on car parts are to be abolished after five to 10 years, the Commission said.

Tariffs on machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are also to be "mostly eliminated," it said.

Duties on some EU agricultural products are also to be lowered significantly. Tariffs on wine are to be cut from 150% to 75% and the 40%-levy on olive oil is to be removed.

Sensitive agricultural products, including beef, chicken meat,
rice and sugar, are excluded from the deal and EU standards are to continue to apply to all Indian imports, the commission said.

The deal will have to be formally adopted by EU countries as well as the European Parliament before it can enter into force.

Photo: EPA