A Deal Two Decades in the Making

The EU and India started negotiating a free trade agreement in 2007. The talks were suspended in 2013 and relaunched in 2022. The agreement was finally concluded on 27 January 2026 at a summit in New Delhi. Together, the EU and India represent around a quarter of the world’s population and about 25% of the world’s GDP. This is the largest trade deal that both parties have ever concluded. The timing is no accident: both sides sought reliable partners amid geopolitical uncertainty — India looking to offset US tariffs, and the EU aiming to reduce its trade dependence on China.

The Numbers Behind the Deal

The EU and India already trade over €180 billion worth of goods and services per year, supporting close to 800,000 jobs in the EU. The agreement is expected to deliver an estimated 107.6% increase in EU annual goods exports to India by 2032, saving European exporters up to €4 billion per year in duties, with 90% of tariffs eliminated or reduced.

What It Means for Medtech

A central element of the agreement is the elimination of tariffs on the vast majority of medical devices exported from the EU to India — products that have historically faced duties of up to 30% depending on the product. The EU’s own figures are telling: for optical, medical and surgical equipment — representing €3.4 billion in annual EU exports — current tariffs reach up to 27.5%, and 90% of these products will face zero tariffs under the new agreement.

But the deal goes beyond tariffs. It includes provisions on customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, transparency and good regulatory practices, and the establishment of a dedicated Working Group on Conformity Assessment — a structural mechanism that allows the regulatory gap between EU and Indian device approval frameworks to be addressed systematically. For an industry built on R&D investment, strong protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights — including copyright, trademarks, designs, and trade secrets — is also enshrined in the agreement.

The agreement will give EU companies privileged access to the world’s most populous country (nearly 1.5 billion people) and the fourth largest economy. Its healthcare market is expanding rapidly — and this agreement now makes it significantly more accessible to European manufacturers. Reducing tariffs strengthens the competitiveness of EU-manufactured medical devices in the Indian market, while reinforcing Europe’s attractiveness as a place to develop and produce medical technologies.

What Comes Next

Before entering into force, the deal still requires approval by the Council of the EU, consent of the European Parliament, and domestic ratification in India — with entry into force potentially as early as 2027. MedTech Europe engaged closely with the European Commission throughout the negotiations and will continue supporting practical and effective implementation of the agreement for the sector.

The direction of travel is clear. For European medtech companies, the EU–India FTA opens a door that has long been only narrowly ajar. The task now is to walk through it.

📘Source:

• European Commission – The EU-India trade agreement: https://commission.europa.eu/topics/trade/eu-india-trade-agreement_en
• EU Trade Policy Factsheet – Main benefits: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/india/eu-india-agreements/factsheet-eu-india-free-trade-agreement-main-benefits_en
• MedTech Europe – Key implications for the medical technology sector: https://www.medtecheurope.org/2026/02/05/eu-india-free-trade-agreement-key-implications-for-the-medical-technology-sector/
• Wikipedia – India–European Union Free Trade Agreement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93European_Union_Free_Trade_Agreement