Divya Agarwal
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 04: Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and European Commission President H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, jointly announced the conclusion of the India -European Union Free Trade Agreement (India – EU FTA) at the 16th India–EU Summit, held on January 27, 2026 – which is being termed as the “Mother of all Trade Deals”. The India-EU FTA will bring down tariffs to zero immediately after the agreement is in force.
Welcoming this significant development, Shri Shaleen Toshniwal, Chairman of MATEXIL (Manmade& Technical Textiles Export Promotion Council) thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce &Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal and the Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh for their leadership in achieving this landmark and historical trade deal.
Shri Toshniwal said, “The India-EU FTA, one of the most complex trade negotiations India has undertaken, comes at a crucial phase when there is global trade fragmentations, increasing protectionism, growing India-US trade frictions and heightened global uncertainty”. He also added that EU is an important economic and strategic partner for India and the trade deal will further deepen this relationship between both the countries.
“Exporters of Manmade Fibre Textiles and Technical textiles in India are buoyant about the trade deal with the EU as it will provide market access and boost exports of value-added products to the EU”, said Shri Toshniwal.
Exports of Manmade fibre textiles and Technical textiles are to the tune of approximately US$ one billion each. Currently, duties ranging between 8% to 12% are being charged by the EU countries on Indian textiles & clothing products, while competing nations like Bangladesh enjoy zero duty, putting our exporters at a disadvantage, and the FTA will make Indian exports competitive,” pointed out the Chairman, MATEXIL.
Shri Shaleen Toshniwal informed that MATEXIL, which is an Export Promotion Council that promote exports of Manmade fibre textiles such a fibre, yarn, fabrics, made ups ( including home textiles) and Technical Textiles, will guide its members on the trade deal once the details and the provisions of the FTA are notified and prepare them to capitalize on the emerging opportunities and scale up exports. He also urged exporters to carefully study the requirements of the buyers in the EU countries and align their products accordingly.
The Chairman of MATEXIL expressed his confidence that the India-EU FTA will play a pivotal role and lay a strong foundation for India Vision 2047.
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