India, Eurasian bloc assess roadmap for free trade agreement in goods

India and the Eurasian Economic Commission have reviewed the roadmap for their proposed free trade agreement in goods, aimed at strengthening economic ties between the two sides, an official statement said on Sunday.

On 20 August this year, India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) signed the terms of reference to begin formal negotiations for the agreement.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal visited Moscow last week for discussions with Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade at the Eurasian Economic Commission, and Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Mikhail Yurin.

“In the meeting with Minister Slepnev, the Commerce Secretary reviewed the next steps for the India-EAEU FTA in goods. The Terms of Reference signed on 20 August 2025 outline an 18-month work plan aimed at diversifying markets for Indian businesses, including MSMEs, farmers and fishermen,” the commerce ministry said.

The EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

The review comes as India seeks to widen its export markets amid high tariff barriers in the US.

India and Russia also held discussions on raising bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030. In his meeting with Yurin, the Commerce Secretary discussed trade diversification, supply-chain resilience and cooperation in critical minerals.

“Both sides discussed a time-bound pathway across key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, telecom equipment, machinery, leather, automobiles and chemicals,” the ministry said. Quarterly regulator-to-regulator engagement was agreed upon to address certification requirements, listings of agricultural and marine businesses, prevention of monopolistic practices and other non-tariff issues.

The talks also covered logistics, payments and standards to improve predictability and ease of doing business for firms in both countries.

With a combined GDP of about USD 6.5 trillion, the proposed agreement is expected to expand market access for Indian exporters, support diversification across sectors and geographies, and benefit micro, small and medium enterprises.

Russia remains India’s largest trading partner within the bloc, with bilateral trade worth USD 68.72 billion in 2024–25 (exports USD 4.88 billion and imports USD 63.84 billion), driven largely by crude oil imports.

India’s trade with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan stood at USD 315.18 million, USD 106.69 million, USD 349.48 million and USD 56.78 million, respectively, in the last financial year.