Its their first commitment to a deadline on talks that have been going for years, as they look to soften the effect of tariff increases from the US.

India and the EU relaunched talks on a long-pending free trade agreement in 2021, but issues like market access for products such as cars and alcoholic beverages have been sticking points. The next round of negotiations is set to take place in March.

The EU has said a key objective of its trade negotiations is removing barriers and helping European companies, particularly smaller firms, to export more. In the same spirit, it must reciprocate by removing trade barriers on Indian firms,

India is studying U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on the country's steel and aluminium imports, mines secretary Kantha Rao said on Thursday. "We definitely have a cost advantage in production of steel and aluminium.

She added that the EU was “exploring a future security and defence partnership with India” along the lines of pacts with Japan and South Korea, which would cover areas including terrorism, maritime security,

The European Union and India aim to conclude a free trade agreement by the end of 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday in New Delhi.

By Manoj Kumar and Shivangi Acharya NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Union have agreed to push for the conclusion of a free trade pact this year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

India and the European Union have agreed to finalize a long-pending free trade agreement this year and boost cooperation in trade, technology, connectivity and defense, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Commission chief said Friday.