India's free trade agreement with the European Union is inching closer to taking effect, and economic think tank GTRI has flagged a warning that could decide how much India actually gains from it. According to GTRI, unless India tightens its food safety framework before the pact kicks in, the country risks losing out on the very benefits the deal promises.
A deal being called the mother of all trade pacts
Over the past few years, India has moved quickly on free trade agreements with major economies, including the United States. Its agreement with the United Kingdom is already in force, and the pact with the 27-nation European Union bloc is expected to follow soon. The scale of the deal has earned it the nickname mother of all deals since it opens the doors to 27 countries in a single stroke. But the opportunity comes with an equally large risk: without the right safeguards in place, the same agreement could end up hurting Indian farmers and exporters rather than helping them.
What the GTRI report recommends
The India-EU FTA is expected to be signed by the end of this year and implemented early next year. Ahead of that, a report prepared by GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava and Shantanu Dikshit of the Centre for Environment and Agriculture recommends that India build a modern, science-based and reciprocal food safety system, one designed to protect consumers, support farmers and keep Indian agricultural exports competitive.
Where the gaps lie
The report says India needs to ensure farm to port traceability, meaning every food product should be trackable from the field it came from to the point it leaves the country. It also calls for strict guidelines on pesticide use, a larger network of internationally accredited laboratories, and regular monitoring of pesticide residues. Enforcement agencies such as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), customs and quarantine bodies must apply these rules strictly, the report adds. Crucially, it argues that food imports arriving in India should face the same level of scrutiny that Indian exports face abroad, and recommends setting up a robust lab-testing system that rejects any import failing to meet standards.
The EU has already blocked 365 Indian products
The report cites a striking figure: the European Union has so far issued 365 food safety orders against Indian products, triggering supply recalls, destruction of goods and intensified inspections. At the same time, pesticide use within the EU is 11 times higher than in India, yet scrutiny of food imports coming into India remains comparatively weak. In effect, Indian goods are being turned away in Europe over relatively minor lapses, while European products face far less rigorous checks on entering the Indian market.
Why the tariff cuts could count for little
The report's central warning is that if Indian agricultural exports keep getting held up at European borders because of strict food safety standards, the tariff reductions promised under the FTA will deliver only limited real benefit. Lower duties mean little if the goods themselves are rejected before they can be sold. That is why GTRI is pushing India to fix its food safety mechanism before the agreement takes effect, so that the country can capture the full upside of the deal rather than opening its own market wide to European food products while its farmers and exporters continue to struggle at the EU's gates.
