The India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) is a proposed comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Republic of India and the European Union (EU). It is a trade arrangement concept designed to liberalize and foster closer economic integration between the two economies. The negotiations for the BTIA were formally launched in 2007, following a political commitment made at the 7th India-EU summit in Helsinki in 2006. The primary goal was to boost bilateral trade and investment by removing barriers, such as high tariffs, and easing market access.
The BTIA negotiations stalled in November 2013 due to disagreements over issues like market access for goods and services, tariff reductions, and the movement of professionals. The mechanism of the agreement was intended to cover a wide mandate, including Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights, and a Dispute Settlement mechanism. The EU is a crucial partner, as India was the EU's ninth-largest trading partner in 2016.
The concept has changed significantly in recent years: the stalled BTIA negotiations were officially relaunched in July 2022. This renewed effort culminated in the conclusion of a new comprehensive agreement, now generally referred to as the India-EU FTA, on January 27, 2026. This new FTA is connected to parallel negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and a Geographical Indications Agreement. The new agreement aims to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 90% of trade and is expected to double EU goods exports to India by 2032.