The Hindu: Published on 4 September 2026
In Mumbai on September 4, 2026, during high-level talks on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever framed the agreement not merely as a commercial win, but as a deliberate choice to ensure greater certainty amid global instability. The event, attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, placed particular emphasis on the Port of Antwerp-Bruges and underscored that the negotiations, concluded in January 2026 as the “mother of all deals,” are now entering the critical phase of formalities, ratification, and practical implementation.
Scale and Core Promise
Goyal repeatedly emphasised the agreement’s sheer size: a combined market of roughly 2 billion people, about a quarter of global GDP, a third of world trade, and roughly USD 24 trillion in economic weight. India–EU bilateral trade has already doubled over the past decade to nearly USD 140 billion. Under the deal, tariffs on more than 95% of Indian and European goods exports are set to be eliminated or reduced, with particularly strong immediate duty-free access expected for Indian labour-intensive exports (textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, gems and jewellery, spices, marine products, etc.).
Both sides stress that sensitive sectors were protected during negotiations, generating broad domestic support in India and rare unanimity across all 27 EU member states. De Wever positioned the FTA as a shield against “arbitrary” unilateral tariffs and protectionism, arguing that open, mid-sized trading economies and rising powers cannot afford isolation or weaponised barriers. The message is clear: in a world of broken supply chains, wars, and uncertainty, India and Europe are choosing to build “islands of trust.”
Belgium’s Gateway Role and Sectoral Opportunities
Belgium is being cast as the physical and commercial doorway. De Wever and Goyal both highlighted the Port of Antwerp-Bruges; Europe’s second-largest seaport; as the logistical hub that can combine Antwerp’s inland connectivity with Bruges’ deep-water and Ro-Ro strengths, giving Indian exporters an efficient route into Europe’s industrial and consumer heartlands. Bilateral India–Belgium trade is currently around USD 13 billion, with ambitions to double it.
Goyal identified five complementary areas for deeper India–Belgium collaboration:
- Gems and jewellery: Co-creation and design, including lab-grown diamonds, with mutual recognition of technology and certification anchored in Antwerp, Mumbai, and Surat.
- Semiconductors: Pairing Belgium’s micro-electronics research strengths with India’s scale, talent, and the multi-billion-dollar Semicon India mission (second edition launched with a USD 14 billion outlay, aiming to catalyse ~USD 70 billion in investments).
- Green hydrogen: Linking India’s Green Hydrogen Mission with Antwerp-Bruges’ bunkering and green shipping infrastructure.
- Defence and advanced manufacturing: Building on MoUs with John Cockerill (which already supplies ammunition for India’s Bofors guns) in counter-drone systems, electronic warfare, precision munitions, and potential Western export corridors for Indian systems such as BrahMos and Pinaka.
- Agriculture and food processing: Potato processing, cold chains, and sustainable agri-value chains that can serve global markets.
These are not abstract talking points. They map onto India’s broader industrial and technological push; semiconductor mission, AI Mission, Critical Minerals Mission, opening of the nuclear sector to private players (target 100 GW), space sector growth from USD 8.5 billion to an expected USD 44 billion, and a new USD 12 billion R&D innovation fund whose purchasing-power impact Goyal equated to far larger European-scale spending.
Geopolitical and Economic Subtext
Goyal invoked Belgian Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine’s idea of “order emerging out of chaos” and closed with a diamond metaphor: pressure and relentless process create something enduring and precious. In his telling, India and Belgium (and by extension India and the EU) can form such a diamond “for the world.” This rhetoric positions the FTA as both economic insurance and a statement of strategic openness at a time when supply-chain resilience and diversification have become national security priorities for both sides.
The Indian growth narrative was also on full display: a USD 4 trillion economy (nominal) already the world’s third-largest on PPP terms (USD 20 trillion), with a collective ambition to reach USD 30 trillion by 2047. Maharashtra was presented as the natural partner for Belgian capital; India’s financial, commercial, and industrial capital and one of its fastest-growing states.
People-to-people and talent dimensions received explicit attention: workforce mobility, mutual recognition of qualifications, joint skills programmes, and dual-degree education to address Belgian talent shortages while leveraging India’s young demographic.
What Remains Unresolved
The January 2026 conclusion of negotiations was a breakthrough after nearly two decades of stop-start talks (launched 2007, suspended 2013, relaunched 2022). However, the agreement still requires legal scrubbing, translation into all official EU languages, Council decisions, European Parliament consent, and Indian ratification before entry into force. Officials on both sides have expressed hope for implementation within 2026 or early 2027, but the process is not automatic. Parallel tracks on an Investment Protection Agreement and Geographical Indications remain open.
Implementation will also test federal coordination in India (many relevant sectors sit with states) and the EU’s ability to maintain political consensus. Non-tariff barriers, standards, sustainability provisions, and the practical ease of using the Antwerp-Bruges corridor will determine how quickly the headline tariff cuts translate into actual trade and investment flows.
Bottom Line
The Mumbai dialogue was less about announcing new terms and more about converting a concluded negotiation into lived economic reality. Goyal and De Wever presented the India–EU FTA as a rare large-scale rules-based partnership that protects sensitive interests while unlocking opportunities for farmers, MSMEs, startups, women entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and service providers on both sides.
Belgium is positioning itself as the preferred European landing point, particularly via its premier port and diamond ecosystem. Whether the “diamond” fully forms will depend on speed of ratification, follow-through on the identified sectoral partnerships, and the ability of businesses on both sides to seize the preferential access once the agreement enters force. In the current geopolitical climate, the political will displayed in Mumbai suggests both capitals are treating that follow-through as a strategic priority.
