“The idea is now to implement it very concretely, especially on non-tariff barriers because this is an issue,” Nicolas Forissier, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affair said.
Interacting with select international media, he said the coming months and years would be critical in giving the agreement real substance.
“We have to do a lot of work in the coming months and years to give this agreement a concrete reality, to implement it in the spirit of a win-win agreement,” he said.
On 27 January 2026, the European Union (EU) and India concluded negotiations on a long-awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Under the pact, over 99% of Indian exports including apparel, chemicals and footwear will get duty-free entry into the 27-nation bloc, while the EU would get access to the Indian market at concessional duty for cars and wines.
Duties will be removed on $33.5 billion of Indian exports including textiles, leather, marine products, gems and jewellery on the first day of the implementation of the deal and on the rest, it will go down to zero in three, five and seven years.He also called for stronger international cooperation on regulating e-commerce, saying that safeguards were needed to protect consumers, especially children, and prevent illegal trade.
He noted that digital commerce has become a central pillar of the global economy, involving “billions of euros and millions of users,” but argued that regulation had not kept pace with its expansion. He India is “very much involved” in efforts to strengthen digital safeguards, particularly in areas such as user protection and platform accountability.
French authorities previously raised concerns about products being sold online that violated national and European standards, prompting calls for platforms to take greater responsibility. In some cases, companies were forced to introduce rapid self-regulation measures.
The push comes amid growing global scrutiny of digital platforms, with countries such as Canada, Australia, and the United States also exploring stricter oversight.
Forissier also underscored the continued relevance of the multilateral trading system, saying strengthening predictability and transparency within the World Trade Organisation framework remains an important pillar for supporting open and rules-based commerce.