Published in News
EU–India Trade Deal: What It Means for Agriculture and Meat
The EU–India free trade agreement opens India’s market to many European agri-food products, but sensitive sectors such as meat remain excluded from tariff liberalisation.
Martina Osmak
Director of Marketing
The European Union and India signed a landmark free trade agreement (FTA), the largest trade pact ever concluded by either side. Covering nearly two billion people and close to a quarter of global economic output, the agreement is designed to deepen economic ties, reduce trade barriers, and provide new growth opportunities for businesses on both sides.
The deal arrives at a time when global trade is increasingly shaped by geopolitical uncertainty and protectionist pressures. Against this backdrop, EU leaders have framed the agreement as a strong signal that rules-based, open trade still matters.
However, while the agreement is wide-ranging, its implications for agriculture — and particularly for the meat sector — are far more limited than the headline figures suggest.
What the EU–India Trade Deal Includes
At its core, the EU–India FTA focuses on tariff reduction, market access, and regulatory cooperation across goods and services.
Under the agreement:
India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 96.6% of EU goods exports
The EU will liberalise 99.5% of its tariff lines for goods imported from India, phased in over up to ten years
For European exporters, the European Commission estimates up to €4 billion per year in tariff savings, particularly benefiting capital-intensive industries such as machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive products, and aerospace.
Beyond goods, the agreement includes:
India’s most ambitious services liberalisation commitments to date
Improved access for EU firms in sectors such as financial services, maritime transport, and professional services
A dedicated SME chapter aimed at making the agreement more usable for smaller companies
Agriculture: Openings, but Carefully Controlled
Agriculture has long been one of the most politically sensitive areas in EU–India trade negotiations. Indian agri-food tariffs average around 36%, with peaks as high as 150%, effectively blocking many foreign products from the market.
The agreement does create meaningful new opportunities — but only for selected, high-value agri-food products.
Under the FTA, the EU gains improved access for products such as:
Wine, spirits, and beer (with tariffs sharply reduced, though not eliminated)
Olive oil (tariffs fully eliminated)
Confectionery and other processed food products
These changes are aimed primarily at serving India’s growing urban middle class, rather than reshaping India’s domestic agricultural landscape.
The Crucial Point for the Meat Industry: What Is Excluded
For meat producers and exporters, the most important aspect of the agreement is what it does not liberalise.
Despite references to “opening agriculture,” the deal explicitly excludes sensitive agricultural sectors, including:
Beef
Chicken and other poultry meat
Rice
Sugar
Certain dairy products
For these products, existing tariffs and trade barriers remain in place, and no meaningful new market access is created under the FTA.
This exclusion reflects:
India’s domestic political sensitivities around meat consumption and livestock farming
Food security considerations
Strong protection of local agricultural producers
From the EU side, it also helps shield European farmers from import competition in politically sensitive sectors.
What This Means in Practice for the Meat Sector
For companies operating in the meat industry, the EU–India trade deal should be understood primarily as a non-event in commercial terms.
No tariff liberalisation for beef or poultry
No new export quotas
No fast-track access to the Indian market
No easing of India’s existing sanitary and regulatory barriers
While the agreement confirms that EU food safety standards remain fully protected, it does not create new pathways for EU meat exports into India.
In short, the Indian market remains effectively closed to EU meat products, just as it was before the agreement.
Indirect Effects Worth Watching
Although the FTA does not open India to EU meat exports directly, it may still have indirect implications over time:
Rising EU exports of processed foods and beverages could influence consumption patterns
Deeper EU–India economic ties may eventually lead to future sector-specific negotiations
Indian agri-food exporters will gain wider access to the EU market in non-sensitive categories, potentially affecting global trade flows
However, these effects are long-term and speculative, rather than immediate or transformative for the meat sector.
Conclusion: Big Deal, Clear Red Lines
The EU–India free trade agreement is undeniably a major geopolitical and economic milestone, offering significant benefits for manufacturing, services, and selected agri-food products.
For the meat industry, however, the message is clear and unambiguous:
meat remains outside the scope of liberalisation.
Despite the scale and ambition of the agreement, long-standing sensitivities around livestock and food security mean that beef and poultry are firmly off the table. For meat producers and exporters, the deal does not change market access conditions — but it does confirm where the red lines currently stand.