India-EU FTA Talks Have Concluded, But the Deal Isn't Signed Yet — Here's What That Means for Spice and Produce Exporters

At its bi-weekly media briefing on 29 October 2026, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the main negotiating tracks of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have "largely concluded" and that the text is now going through "legal and procedural scrubbing." Asked directly whether a December signing date in Brussels had been fixed, as several outlets have reported, the MEA did not confirm one — it said only that "dates will be shared publicly once they are finalised."

That distinction matters more than it sounds. The substantive talks wrapped up on 27 January 2026, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen jointly announced the conclusion of negotiations at the 16th India-EU Summit — nine months ago. Since then, the European Commission has sent the text to the EU Council seeking authorisation to sign and conclude it, and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has reviewed progress with EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting. But "negotiations concluded" is still not the same as "agreement signed," and signing is still not the same as "tariffs changed." For exporters working out landed costs or quoting multi-year contracts to European buyers, that three-step gap is worth understanding precisely.

What the deal actually offers — according to India's own factsheet

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry's official factsheet, published alongside the January 2026 announcement, sets out what Indian exporters stand to gain once the agreement enters into force. Of the EU's tariff lines, 70.4% — covering 90.7% of India's current export value to the EU — would see duties eliminated immediately at entry into force. The factsheet explicitly names spices, alongside tea, coffee, textiles, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, as beneficiaries of this immediate category. A further 20.3% of lines reach zero duty over 3 to 5 years, and another 6.1% get reduced duty or tariff-rate quotas.

On the agriculture and food side specifically, the factsheet lists preferential access for tea, coffee, spices, grapes, gherkins and cucumbers, dried onion, fresh vegetables and fruits, sheep and lamb meat, sweet corn and processed foods. It also notes that India has safeguarded sensitive domestic sectors — dairy, cereals, poultry, soymeal, and certain fruits and vegetables — from EU import concessions on India's own tariff schedule; that protection runs the other way and does not describe how Indian cereal exports are treated on the EU side, which the public factsheet does not spell out.

India's Spices Board has already welcomed the deal in public remarks. Chairperson Sangeetha Viswanathan said in late January that "enhanced market access and regulatory cooperation under the agreement are expected to boost spice exports," naming pepper, cardamom, turmeric and chilli-based value-added products as categories with strong European demand that could draw fresh investment in processing, traceability and branding. Bilateral merchandise trade between India and the EU stood at roughly USD 136.54 billion in 2024-25, with India's exports to the EU at about USD 75.85 billion, per the Commerce Ministry's figures.

Business takeaway

None of this is in effect today. As of the 29 October briefing, the agreement has no signature, no ratification, and no entry-into-force date — only a negotiated text under legal review and a government saying it wants to move "expeditiously." That is normal for a trade deal of this size, but it creates a specific risk for exporters: quoting European buyers on the assumption of a duty cut that has not yet taken legal effect, or signing long-term supply contracts priced around tariff relief that could still be months away.

The more useful move right now is preparation, not pricing. Exporters of turmeric powder and cardamom — two of the categories the Spices Board specifically flagged — can start mapping their EU-bound HS codes against the phase-out schedules once the legal text is published, and get rules-of-origin documentation in order in advance, rather than scrambling once the agreement is signed. The same applies to pickled gherkins, one of the specific line items the factsheet names for preferential access. Buyers will likely start asking about this deal before it is actually in force; the credible answer is to explain exactly where the process stands — concluded negotiations, pending signature, no confirmed date — rather than promise a tariff number that isn't live yet.